Twice Under a Knitted Sweater
by DakotaDog612
Summary: -"Tell me a story." "Now? Here? Are you crazy?" A smile crept onto her lips, pale from death. "No, just insane." "Fine, once upon a time-" "I've heard that." (From Twice Under a Knitted Sweater) When once upon a time just isn't enough. Disclaimer: I don't own RotG or GF.
1. We Are Old

**Yeah, so, hi! My first crossover fic! I, uh, don't own RotG or GF. and there are no OC's in this that I know of (my brain works in mysterious ways) so... I own nothing *jaw drops in shock*. Woooooowwwww... awyways, enjoy**

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I would say once upon a time, but this isn't a once upon a time sort of story. And, spoiler alert, this story doesn't have a happy ending. So, I'll say something else.

Twice under a knitted sweater, there was a girl named Mabel Pines. She was the sweetest, most bubbly girl you could ever meet. At sixteen, she was still in touch with her inner child, curious, imaginative, and, overall, troublesome.

Mabel wasn't your ordinary teenager. Most teenagers had hormonal problems, giving them constant, violent mood swings. Mabel didn't have that, her violent mood swings were 125.7% her. She didn't have acne. She didn't have oily hair. She didn't have to try to look beautiful, that happened naturally.

And it was one of the reasons she was hated most in the sleepy town of Gravity Falls.

When she was twelve, Mabel and her twin brother, Dipper, went to Gravity Falls for the summer. Located in the very center of Oregon, it was almost completely unknown. The only things keeping it on the map were the Tent of Telepathy, the most popular attraction in Gravity Falls, and the infamous Mystery Shack.

Considering Mabel has the perfect life, she must have lived at the Tent of Telepathy, right? Well, no. Actually, she hated that place. Her ex owned it, Gideon Charles Gleeful, who had tried to kill her and her brother, mostly her brother, on multiple occasions. She worked and lived at the Mystery Shack, the weirdest, wackiest, and most likely dirtiest place on Earth.

The summer trip had started out like any other- they needed fresh air and sunshine, blah, blah, blah, too much time indoors, yada, yada, yada... well, that was four years ago. Back then it was an innocent little vacation. Then, about three months later, it took a turn for the worse.

Mabel and Dipper were on their way back from Gravity Falls. Mabel was crying, shouting in protest about how unfair it was she had to leave her pet pig, Waddles, back at the Shack. Dipper was trying to speak over her, recalling his many adventures from the town. Mrs. Pines was attempting to sleep, while Mr. Pines was yelling his favorite song, We Are Young, above it all. In other words, a normal Pines family road trip.

It was Dipper that saw it first. The truck. It had lost a wheel, its engine was on fire, and it was spinning out of control. He screamed, pointing out the window and yelling in alarm. They were right in its path.

The noise drowned him out. Mrs. Pines had started snoring, and Mabel was trying to sing along to the song.

"Today- uh, Tonight, we are old, um, young~!" She cried.

Dipper shook her shoulder. "Mabel," he shouted, "Mabel, look!"

He pointed out the window. Mabel paused and glanced out at the truck, which was a yard away. The twins screamed in unison, finally getting their parents attention. The two heads of the Pines parents swiveled to the left, where the truck was less than a foot away.

Dipper threw over his backpack over his back. Mabel took her vampire novels and threw them over their heads. **(A/N: NO PINECEST INTENDED IN THE FOLLOWING!)** Dipper grabbed his sister's arms and pulled her in close.

The parents yelled in horror, the truck only inches away. Mr. Pines grabbed his beautiful wife and tried to shield her. He slammed his foot on the gas to outrun the truck, the speed limit thrown to the wind. The entire family of brunette's screamed in terror as the truck smashed into the side of the car.

The music continued.


	2. Dipper Get's Screwed

**Just FYI, Candy and Dipper are dating in this fic. admit it, they make a super cute couple! So, I hope that clears some thangs up... I don't own RotG or GF, although, like vegas, I am working on takin them over.**

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Mabel's eyes flew open. She was breathing heavily, cold sweat beaded on her forehead. Hr sheets were twisted around her legs. She was gripping her stuffed tiger like a lifeline.

The girl looked up at the ceiling. "It was a nightmare." She gasped. "Just a nightmare."

Her chocolate eyes sparkled. It was just a nightmare. Maybe they weren't dead. Maybe she was still twelve. Maybe it was still just a day before they would leave the sleepy town of Gravity Falls.

She bounced out of bed. Her pale legs rushed her down the stairs of the cabin, a smile on her face. She went into the kitchen, by the refrigerator, where her Great Uncle Stan kept his calendar when he wasn't carrying it around for reasons unknown.

The brunette grabbed the paper book. She looked at it with hope, pure, undeniable hope. Mabel's smile faded as she read the year. 2016. It was real. Her family was dead. She lived with her only living relative, Stan, and her brother Dipper.

She fell onto her knees. It couldn't be true. She never even had the chance to say goodbye. She never had the chance for one more goodnight kiss, one more bedtime story. There were no more chances to be praised for awards. There was no way to be cheered for after a school play, or be comforted after a bully. She was alone.

Mabel screamed. "Mommy! Daddy!"

Dipper's eyes flashed open. His hand went to his lamp, which instantly turned on as the string was pulled. He had been having another dreamless sleep. Another one with no nightmares, nothing at all. For Mabel, though, it was different. She almost always had dreams, and, more often, nightmares. Dreamless was a foreign word to her.

At least four times a week, Mabel would have the nightmare of their parents death. For the first three weeks, Dipper had it too. He had to relive the pain over and over again. And each time, it hurt more and more. Finally, the nightmares stopped for him. They stopped the day after Christmas, when he hadn't gotten the one thing he had on his Christmas list.

His parents.

That was the day he stopped believing. His teeth were still taken, although instead of quarters or dollars or things like that, he got pennies. Dipper's dreams stopped coming. It was impossible to find Easter eggs. His Christmas gifts were worse. Even snow days had lost their fun.

Mabel, on the other hand, refused to believe the childhood legends were not real. Sure, she was a bit creeped out that Santa snuck into your house and stole your cookies. Sure, she pondered how so many eggs were hidden in one night. No doubtably she had asked how the Tooth Fairy collected many a teeth. Many times she had questioned how the Sandman had delivered so many dreams. She often wondered aloud how the Boogeyman got his name. And every time it snowed she screamed questions about how it was so much fun.

And for a while, people humored her. They gave silly answers, like saying the Boogeyman loved to dance. The Tooth Fairy had a jetpack. Santa had a search warrant. The Easter Bunny was an expert at Hide-and-Seek. Mabel always frowned at their answers and shook her head.

She eventually stopped asking, though little things expressed her reason to belief. She wrote Christmas lists. She would go out every morning at five AM on Easter to hunt for eggs. She wrote down every dream she ever had, and every nightmare. She would stay up as late as she could to see the Tooth Fairy. And, to Dipper's confusion, she would spend snow days alone, searching the forest and parks.

Mabel was usually able (A/N: OMG UNINTENTIONAL RHYME!) to keep herself quiet when it came to nightmares. She would turn over in her bed, write a note to the supposed Sandman, and go back to sleep. Dipper had no idea why she would finally crack that night.

He pulled on his hat, the one he had gotten four years ago, and ran down the stairs. Mabel was in the kitchen, rocking back and forth on the floor. Next to her was the calendar, opened to December. All the dates behind December 16th were crossed off. Tears stained the paper, threatening to dissolve it.

The brunette boy sat by his twin. She may have been older by five minutes, but he found himself older mentally. And physically. He had gotten two inches taller then her, although Mabel held steadfastly to her Alpha Twin proposal.

"Mabes?" Dipper asked, using his favorite nickname for her. "Mabes, what's up?"

Mabel didn't respond. Her sobs were choked, like she was trying to hold them back. Dipper frowned. Mabel was usually quick to tell her things like that.

"Mabel?" He asked, pure concern in his voice. His sister turned away from him. "Mabel." He said sternly.

"They really are gone." Mabel whispered, her voice cracking. "Mom and Dad, they're gone. Dead. DEAD!"

She turned to her brother, tears running down her face. The look of sadness looked wrong on a face usually filled with cheer.

"Mabel," Dipper said flatly, "they've been gone for years. They're never coming back."

"LIAR!" Mabel screamed. "Dipper, they're out there somewhere. They just need to find their way back to us." Her voice steadily rose. "And you sit there and don't care! You've never cared! You've never been there for me, NEVER! You only come to me when you realize you did something wrong, or need girl advice, or need a laugh from your stupid, immature, silly sister!"

Dipper could almost feel his heart shatter. In a way, it was true. He had ignored her for a while after their parents had died. He was constantly locked away in his room. He didn't believe his parents would come back.

"Mabel-"

"Save it!" She shouted. "Just save it! You hate me, Dipper! All you ever do is ask me three questions- 'What would Candy like' or 'Why do you believe in those stupid myths' or, worst of all, 'When will you stop thinking our dead parents will come back?' They're still out there."

Anger flared inside of her twin. "I do hate you! A real twin wouldn't yell at me about stupid things!"

"A real twin would try to help me when I needed it!"

"Then I guess we're not real twins!"

Mabel's heart sank. She grabbed her boots and pulled them onto her feet. She glared at Dipper and kicked him in the shin. The boy yelped and fell onto his back, limbs flailing like those of a flipped over beetle.

"Screw you." Mabel hissed.

Without looking back, the brunette bounded out the door.

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**R&R!**

**~Dakota**


	3. Many Questions, Almost No Answers

**I own nothing, okay? Not RotG or GF. I am posting this chapter because I am bored and stuck with my "loving" family whom I am mad at after the tire on our car popped. Being fixed now. Thank god for wifi! Also, please review! Makes me feel better to know people bother reading this. read on!**

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It was three in the morning, give or take a few minutes. Mabel Pines had tears streaming down her face. She trudged through the snow, not caring where she was going.

Dipper had a good heart. Mabel had been in a state of shock when her brother agreed about him hating her. How could he? He deserved to be on the naughty list for life.

Mabel kicked a snow bank. How could the snow sit there, so perfect and sweet, when she was in pain? She cursed when she kicked a rock.

"Ow, ow, ow!" She shouted. "_I hate rocks_!"

Again, she tried to kick the rock. She screamed again, gripping her foot. Mabel didn't have anger issues, she was just very upset. She bottled up her feelings, so when they finally overflowed, anger, sadness, or fear would billow out of her like steam from a teapot.

She sank onto the ground. Her head buried itself between her knees. The cold sunk its way into her sweater, making her shiver a bit.

"Mom, dad, you are still out there, right?" She whispered, staring up at the moon. "Your watching over us, right?"

There was no response. Mabel sniffed loudly and pulled her legs closer to her body. Maybe she could just stay out there all night and freeze to death. She would like that. Then maybe Dipper would realize how stupid he had been acting. Then she would finally get the respect she deserved.

The brunette sat in the snow for an hour. She could almost feel icicles forming on her. She shivered intensely, wondering when hypothermia would finally take over.

A sweet tune filled her ears. Mabel perked up, glancing around. She grabbed a fistful of snow and pressed it together. _Good job, Mabel_, her brain screamed,_ a possible maniac, Gideon, or who knows what in the Gravity Falls forest and you arm yourself with a snowball?!_

_Shut up, brain, or common sense, or insane little voice I should get check out at a doctors, or maybe a mental psychiatrist_, another part of her shouted back, _it was your idea_.

The tune continued. It was light and airy. Mabel scrunched up her nose. It was like the universe was making fun of her pain with such a pleasant song. She ducked behind a bush, weaseling her way into the center. From behind the branches, she watched her surroundings.

Snow crunched as the creature approached. Mabel leaned in close to the ground, although she was already invisible.

"_Chestnuts roasting on an open fire_..." It was a male voice.

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows. Who would be crazy enough to wander through the Gravity Falls forest, filled with many a insane and dangerous beings, in the middle of a freezing winter night and sing that song? Perhaps a song of death would be better.

"_Jack Frost nippin' at your nose_... yeah, your nose."

Mabel froze. She could feel eyes on her. Her breathing stopped, as did the sound of footsteps.

"You. Right there in the bush. The one that is trying to hide in the middle of the night. You know, you could have covered your tracks, or at least tried to. It's snow."

The wind rushed by her. Mabel didn't move. She saw a blur of blue, white, and brown flash by the bushes. She gripped the snowball more tightly, regretting going into the forest.

"Aw, your a teenager." The boy sounded disappointed. "Teenagers can't see me. It's sad, I never really get to talk to anyone my age. Well, not my age. Physically, I suppose."

Mabel frowned. Teenagers couldn't see him? It made no sense to her. And what was this about his physical age? Was he a vampire? Mabel cringed.

She had a run with vampires once, and they did it sparkle, nor were they romantics. Lets just say she had gone into her panic place, Sweater Town, for at least a week.

"Hey, your going to freeze out here. Did you make that sweater? It's cute, but it won't keep you warm, sweetheart."

Mabel slowly stood up. She wiped away her tears and backed out of the bush. The cold was getting to her head, and the voice was just that of reason, telling her what to do.

"Good!" The boy cheered happily. "Your going! Nice talking to you, sweetie! Of course, I did all of the talking."

The brunette turned toward the Mystery Shack. To her surprise, there was a very pale boy in front of her. He had wild white hair and icy, mischievous blue eyes. He wore nothing but a frosty blue hoodie and some tattered brown pants that ended at the calves. His feet were bare, and he was leaning on a gnarled brown branch.

_And_, Mabel thought, her boy crazy side taking over, _he's cute_.

But, on the other hand, the voice she assumed was in her head was not so in her head, and the boy could want to kill her. She was adorable and already taken by a merman. Who wouldn't be jealous enough to kill?

The boy grinned at her, flashing snowy white teeth as Mabel slowly stepped out of the bush. He waved at her like a child would to their best friend.

"See you around, girlly." He said, turning on his bare heel.

Mabel grabbed a branch by her. By no means was it was nice as the boys, but it would do. One end was very sharp, just as she needed. The girl darted up behind the strange teenager and held the pointed end to his neck. He was an entire head and a half taller then her, one of the tallest people she had ever seen, but she couldn't have a maniac running around.

"Y-you." Mabel said. "Stop walking. I'll... I'll kill you r-right now."

The boy chuckled, although he obliged.

"Now," she continued, "drop the... twiggy thingy."

"It's a staff, honey." He corrected.

Mabel winced, pressing the edge into his skin. "Drop it."

The boy slowly leaned over and put his staff on the ground. Mabel took a deep breath, her confidence slowly building. At least he was cooperative.

"Put your hands in the air." She commanded. With a second thought, she quietly added, "please."

"What are you, the police?" He questioned, crossing his arms.

"Put your hands in the air!" Mabel barked. "I know how to use this thing, don't make me do it!"

"Whoa, calm down, sweetie!" The boy put his hands up.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same question."

"Why don't you have shoes on? What's your name? Why haven't I seen you before? Are you a vampire? Why did you try to help me? What do you mean teenagers can't see you? How old are you? Do you have a girlfriend? When's your birthday? Why are your eyes so blue? Do you know what's going on in this town? What's the square root of 16? Where do you live? What's your favorite color? What-?"

The boy laughed. Mabel frowned at him. She would have dug the branch deeper into his neck, but she could tell any farther would break the skin. And she was not a killer.

"Answer the questions." She said deadpanned.

"I already forgot half of them." He chuckled. "But I do remember you asking about a girlfriend."

Mabel bit her lip. "Uh, you're daydreaming from the, uh, cold."

"I'm Jack Frost."

"_THEN YOU'RE DAYDREAMING FROM THE HEAT_!" She shouted. "Wait-Jack Frost? As in the personification of winter or as in the most awesome guy ever that Jamie doesn't shut up about?"

"The second one." Jack confirmed. "Now just take the pointy thing off my neck and we'll have a normal conversation."

"With Jack Frost!" Mabel squealed. She threw her branch aside.

Jack nodded in approval and turned around. Mabel was tingling with excitement, or possibly hyperthermia, at the thought. She was in the forest with Jack Frost. She was in the forest with Jack Frost! She was in the forest with Jack Frost?

"Wait, why are you here, Frost?" She asked. "Talking to girls in the middle of the forest, in the middle of the night?"

"I was making a snow storm for you wonderful people of whatever this town is, when I heard this screaming." Jack began.

Mabel's eyes went down to her foot. "Stupid rock," she huffed.

"And so I, being the amazing, caring, awesome, heroic-"

"And modest-"

"Yes, and modest guy I am, went to help said damsel in distress. And then a crazy lady put a staff of her own against my neck and threatened to kill me. And you wanna know what's funny?" Jack leaned in so close to Mabel she felt uncomfortable. "I'm already dead."

"I'm not crazy!" Mabel snapped, pushing Jack away from her. "I'm just insane. There is a huge difference! I think." She held out her hand. "Mabel Pines at your service, Mister Bringer of Cold, Frost, and Snow," her eyes glinted mischievously, "and newest Guardian."

"Whoa, creepy brunette that knows everything about me!" Jack shouted, bouncing backwards. "But its kind of cool."

"Ha!"

"No pun intended."

"Aw."

Jack grinned, perching himself atop his staff. "Now I get to ask you a question. How do you know Jamie?"

Mabel flushed. "I-uh..."

She was saved by the snapping of a branch. The two swiveled their heads around, looking for the clumsy person. Mabel yelped, pointing to the culprit.

In the brush were two large, yellow eyes. A snout stuck out from get bush, a hoof pawing at the ground. Mabel whimpered loudly, latching onto Jack. He looked shocked as the Night Mare slowly walked forward.

"J-Jack...?"

Jack wrapped his arms around the terrified brunette. She stiffened a tiny bit; it was like being hugged by a snowman. He grinned at her.

"Hold on." He whispered.

The Night Mare charged at them. Mabel screamed, death suddenly seeming like a cruel joke. Jack laughed, launching himself into the air. Through his laughter, only one thought traveled through his mind. Pitch Black had returned.

_Again_.


	4. No Gossiping With Evil Ponies

**I own not GF or RotG. Please read my A/N at the bottom! I CAN NOT UPDATE UNLESS YOU DO!**

Mabel was very confused.

Confusion was a very normal thing for her. She knew the feeling very well. In fact, most people believed she was a blonde who dyed her brown. And, in case you were wondering, that is a stereotypical misunderstanding. Blondes can be very intelligent, and Mabel is a natural brunette.

Either way, she remembered screaming. And a horse. And then she couldn't feel the ground. And then Jack laughed at her. It was very difficult to piece together, which she did not like at all. It made her feel stupid.

"Open your eyes!" Jack shouted in her ear.

"Don't yell at me!" She yelled.

Her amber brown eyes flickered open. She gasped at the scene around her. She was flying, suspended in the chilly winter air. The sleepy town below her was covered in a winter wonderland of snow and ice, which glistened under the street lamps.

The fear left Mabel, replaced with pure awe. She was flying. She was flying! It was her dream to fly!

"Wow, this is so much better when your normal sized," she breathed.

"What?" Jack questioned.

"Uh, long story. And what was that horsie thingy?"

"Ugh, longer story. But it's evil, so don't try to, um, gossip with it or whatever girls do."

Mabel scowled. "Is it after you or me?"

Jack frowned. He gave a shrug, honestly not knowing the answer. He hadn't seen a Night Mare in four years, almost five. He had no idea how Pitch was getting power. He had no clue about why it would attack Mabel. And he had no way to tell why the town felt so... weird.

A whinnying came from behind them. Jack whipped them around, and, to his displeasure, saw exactly what he was trying to get away from. The Night Mare glared at them with shining yellow eyes.

"So," Mabel said, "apparently you're evil, Mr. Horse. Tell me about that."

"Mabel, I told you _not_ to gossip with it!"

"I wasn't gossiping, I was asking it a question. It may be evil, but I love ponies!"

The Night Mare gave Jack a look that said something along the lines of _"I'm not a pony, and this girl is crazy."_ Jack shrugged at it desperately, as she continued to talk about ponies. It somehow turned into something about unicorns.

"I've seen a unicorn," Mabel continued, "and they aren't all sugar and rainbows like everyone thinks. Yeah, it stabbed Dipper in the butt. It was really funny. And then it ran away. I didn't even get to pet it!"

"Mabel."

"I mean, it was _so_ pretty!"

"Mabel?"

"And I tried to go after it, but it just disappeared!"

_"MABEL!"_

"WHAT?"

"What part of _evil_ did you not understand?"

"The 'vil' part."

The Night Mare grunted. It pawed at the air, making Mabel shut up and burry her face into Jack's hoodie. The fearling charged at the two.

Jack was quick and dodged the horse by zipping to the left. Mabel yelped, gripping his hand tighter, making them both blush. Jack turned back around to face the attacking Night Mare, but, to his surprise, found it gone.

He turned in a full circle. "Where did the Night Mare go?"

"That was a Night Mare?" Mabel whispered, trembling. "Jack, you and Jamie have a lot of explaining to do!"

"How do you even know Jamie?"

"I-"

Before Mabel could answer, something hit Jack in the back **(A/N: MORE UNINTENTIONAL RHYMES! I'm a poet and I didn't even know it, lol)**. Being hit in the back hurts. Being hit on the back with the force of a thousand pound horse moving at forty miles an hour hurts even more. And being hit by a thousand pound horse going forty miles an hour five hundred feet in the air in the middle of a cold winter night with a terrified girl in your arms is not lucky, nor is it a feel-good feeling.

If Mabel hadn't been using hand gestures to yell at Jack about knowing Jamie, things would have gone better. But Mabel was a very gesture-using type of person. And things just seemed better with gestures. Plus, it is a pretty awesome word. Gestures. Gestures. _Gestures._ Uh, never mind.

Well, the gestures didn't help. When Jack got hit, Mabel's need for gesturing got her knocked out of his arms. She yelped, free falling through the air.

She kicked and flailed through the air. Suddenly, the snow globe like world below didn't seem very inviting. Mabel stared up at the sky, where a single shooting star zipped by.

She stopped struggling, watching in awe as she stopped struggling. A tear fell down her face as her chocolate curls flew around her.

"Star light, star bright," she whispered, "shooting star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight." Her eyes traveled to the full moon, which was slowly getting smaller as she got closer to the ground. "Please, please, please, just let me live through this."

Then, everything went black.

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**So, uh, this is sorta awkward, but I don't know Jamie's age! No one ever comes out and goes FYI Jamie is blah years old. And I need it for the story! I think Sophie is like, three in the movie, so she's like, seven in this fic. And I think Jamie's nine in the movie, so he would be like, thirteen in this fic. But I don't know for sure! Please review and tell me! Also, CLIFFIE!**

**~Dakota**


	5. Jamie's Letter

**Hidden note in this chappy. Enjoy! PS- I will not tell u if u gotted the code right or wrong. Also, u people didn't review! I SO SAD, PWEASE REVIEW HERE OR I'LL DIE! I mean seriously, you people kept me up all last night cause I felt guilty for not updating.**

"Mabel."

No answer.

"Mabel."

Nothing.

"Mabel!"

Slowly, two brown orbs fluttered open. They slowly scanned the room they were in. Her room. Posters of boys scattered on the walls. Pink bed sheets. Sparkles. Lots and lots of sparkles. The one thing she found odd was the pounding in her head.

Mabel glanced up at the nervous face above her. Dipper. She frowned, remembering the conversation from the previous night.

"Mabel, are you okay?"

"Fine." She replied.

Dipper breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I heard you scream last night. You must have been sleep walking or something because you were on the doorstep."

"Was I... hurt?" She asked slowly.

"Yeah." Dipper took his hand and touched the back of Mabel's head. She yelped. "You had a big bump on the back of your head. You must have fallen down the stairs. The swelling went down a lot. Was the size of a grapefruit, now the size of an orange."

"Oh."

"Stan says you can have the day off. Actually, we both have it off. Stan says we don't have to work until New Years." Dipper laughed. "And guess what? It's a snow day!"

The girl gripped her head. "Jack..." she mumbled.

"Jack?"

"Jack Frost."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Let's go get something to eat, okay? Then maybe you'll start think straight."

Mabel frowned as Dipper helped her to her feet. He helped her down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she was forced to sit while Dipper started pancakes, her favorite. She watched the window, where fern frost sprouted.

Involuntarily, she began to recall her adventure from the previous night. Dipper insisted it was a nightmare, which made Mabel giggle, thinking of the name of the fearlings.

She insisted it was true, though. She could still feel Jack's cold. She could hear the whinnying of the Night Mare. She could still smell the pine tress and fresh snow. She never had such a realistic dream.

"And," she concluded, "Jamie says that Jack Frost is too amazing to be in a nightmare." She sighed wistfully. "He was amazing." She looked down at her pancakes, where she had been making snowflake out of syrup.

"Yeah, go out with your _literal_ dream man, Mabes." Dipper scoffed. "I can't believe you still believe in the 'Guardians' Mabel. It's silly."

"Why?" Mabel snapped. "Don't you?"

Dipper opened his mouth to yell that he didn't. Why should he? After all, he was sixteen. He stopped believing a long time ago, and nothing Mabel or Jamie could say could make him think otherwise.

He glanced at his older sister. She looked weak, and broken. Ever since their parents died, she had seemed to get weaker and weaker every day. She was skin and bones. She had cut her hair so it was just below her shoulders, like their mothers. Her braces were long gone. She had lost a bit of her overall Mabel-ness. And, in all honesty, it scared Dipper.

"Sure, Mabel. Whatever," he mumbled.

The room was filled with silence. Mabel quietly ate her pancakes, torn between wincing in pain from the bump on her head and grinning to know her brother believed. Dipper sifted through the mail, throwing away bills as he was told to do by his great uncle.

Soon, near the bottom of the stack of mail, Dipper found something addressed to Mabel. He narrowed his eyes. From Jamie. Carelessly, he threw it to Mabel.

The girl looked up, syrup dripping from her lips. She nearly coughed up her breakfast when she saw who the letter was from.

"Jaywie!" She said, little bits of pancake flying out of her mouth. She swallowed, blushed, and repeated, "Jamie!"

Dipper looked disgusted. "Gross, Mabel."

"Man up, Dipping Sauce!" She snapped. Mabel opened the letter. As she did, she babbled. "I haven't gotten a letter from Jamie in ages! I wonder what he's been up to? I can't wait to tell him I met Jack! Dip, you think he's going to come to Gravity Falls next summer like he did last year? I can't wait to see him and Sophie again! She's gotten so big!"

Dipper rolled his eyes. He perked up when his toast, barely burnt on the edges, popped out of the toaster. He excused himself and dashed off.

Mabel looked after her brother wistfully, wishing for the days when he and her did everything together. She shook her head and looked down at the letter. Jamie, she thought, you better have a good reason that you haven't written. The letter, as always, started with Jamie's nickname for Mabel.

_Girlly-Girl-_

_Ella, my mom, says hello. I can't wait to see you again!_

_This summer, my mom says that we can come to the Falls. She says it was beautiful._

_James, that prince from England, is all we've been learning about in school. Talk_

_about boring! And some people think its interesting. Save me Mabel! I_

_can't take another minute of this! It's so boring! In fact, you should_

_know that I'm writing this in my history class. Very boring, indeed._

_We, as in me and Sophie, have been counting down the days until the_

_enchanting summer break so that we can come down and have Mr. Pines have again._

_Not everything here in Burgess is fun and games, like Jack thinks. I have no_

_earthly idea about how I'm supposed to read the entire book_

_Ender's Game over winter break. Stupid teachers. We got a new_

_dog. Sophie has been begging for one after Abby died._

_Having a dog is a big responsibility. I don't know if Sophie can take the_

_extreme pressure of having a dog again. She wants a_

_Lab retriever. Mom wants a teacup_

_poodle. I think I want something along the lines of a_

_Pit Bull. They're pretty cool dogs. Dad wants an_

_Irish setter. We just can't decide, it's hectic! Even the councilor agrees_

_that its crazy in my normally_

_comfy home. I think that you need to come_

_here to Burgess. It would be so much fun! We could go monster_

_hunting in the forest again. Sophie wants an_

_eggshell colored sweater. With_

_ham on it. She thinks it would be funny. You make_

_awesome_

_sweaters and you're really,_

_undeniably funny. I can't wait to_

_see you this summer,_

_-Jamie._

Mabel frowned, turning the letter over in her hands. "Hey, Dip-Dip, this letter is weird."

Dipper looked up from his toast. "Hm? Now is Jamie claiming there is some sort of, I don't know, leprechaun or something out for revenge?" He chuckled.

"No. Jamie wrote it in history class. He _loves_ history!" She spun around in her chair, putting her hands in the air for added effect. "He wants to see if he can find something about Jack. Plus, get this, he didn't mention the Guardians at all, and Jack only once!"

"Maybe he's finally growing up. After all, he is like, thirteen." Dipper took a bite out of his toast. After finishing, he added, "Most people stop believing at twelve. Middle school and stuff."

Mabel rolled her eyes. "But we still believe, right?"

"Whatever."

A knocking came from the direction of the door. The twins froze. The knocking repeated itself. No footsteps pounded toward it.

"Somebody get the door! I don't get up until noon!" Stan shouted.

Mabel leaped to her feet. "I'll get it, Grunkle Stan!" She turned to Dipper with a grin. "Might be the mailman with another letter from Jamie!"

Dipper rolled his eyes as Mabel disappeared around the corner. "Or the Easter Bunny," he mumbled in sarcasm.

**DUN DUN DUN! We know the truth about Dipper, and TheLSPDragon is right- he needs to believe in love and also GIANT MAGICAL BUNNIES! So, I leave you with many questions- who is at the door? How do Jamie and Mabel know each other? When will Pitch make a random appearance? When will Jack and Mabel K-I-S-S? When will Mabel know the truth about Dipper's belief? Will Sophie get her sweater? Will Jack learn the secrets of Gravity Falls? When will I stop asking questions? Find out in- *dramatic music starts* THE NEXT CHAPTER! Oh and review! REVIEW**


	6. Nice Shoes

**I don't own RotG or GF. And I came home from school and opened my email, and I had even more reviews! And I was like, AHHHHHHHH THANK YOU ALL SOO MUCH!**

Who would ring the doorbell at eight in the morning? That was the single question that ran through Mabel's mind. It was kind of early, even for an insane girl like herself.

She frowned, an image of a little Southern boy in distant on revenge popping into her mind. Gideon Charles Gleeful. Typical. Mabel ground her teeth. He would try to get her when she was off guard, drowsy from the early morning and slow from her wound.

Not today, Gideon, she thought spitefully. She grabbed a baseball bat from off the shelf of the gift shop, which she liked to walk through. She went to the door where she hid by the frame. She counted down in her mind.

3... 2... 1...

Mabel flung open the door. Before she had a chance to hit anyone over the head and think if a good place to throw their body (perhaps the bottomless pit... heh, heh... bottomless), something hit her face. Cold, white, and slushy.

She heard muffled laughter, having to use her ears as she was temporarily blinded. The laughter was familiar.

"Strike three, you're out!"

Mabel scowled, rubbing the snow from her eyes. "Jack!" She shouted. "Wait, what happened to strikes one and two?"

Jack snickered at her. "Doesn't matter. And, as I was saying, good morning, sweater girl! Uh, why do you have a baseball bat?"

The brunette glanced at the aluminum bat in her hands, dented from the many uses before it. Mabel hoped those uses were for good, like hitting baseballs, instead of evil, like hitting people over the head and throwing their lifeless bodies into the bottomless pit. What type of maniac would do that?

"Err... the same reason you have no shoes!" She shot.

"You woke up in a frozen pond with it?"

"... yes." She said blankly. Jack stared at her oddly. "Hey, Dipper," she screamed suddenly, turning on her heel. "Dipper, Dipper, come here! There's someone I want you to meet!"

Jack rolled his eyes. The girl was certainly weird, there was no debate. They should get along fine.

Mabel excitedly turned back to Jack. "You'll never believe it! Dipstick believes in you, too! And he knows Jamie, too! And he's my twin, too!" Her voice steadily rose as she made her loud statements.

Jack frowned. Two teenagers that believed in him, that lived in the same house, that went through the same lives? Except he was a boy, and she was a girl? He had his own doubts about that happening, but no doubtably he would give it a try. After all, Jamie was very persuasive.

Dipper walked into the room. He was wiping crumbs off his chin, bags under his eyes more visible then usual. He glanced at the door doubtfully, glaring his sister. The only bright side to that was she seemed fully healed (mentally) from her head wound.

"Dipper Pines, this is my new friend Jack Frost! Jack Frost, this is my little baby brother Dipper Pines." She introduced the two, gesturing every which way as she said their names.

The younger of the twins continued to stare at the open door. He saw nothing, no one. Mabel has finally cracked, he thought ruefully. But he couldn't do that to Mabel. At the moment, he was to sleepy to argue. He was just going to go along with it and confront her later.

"Yeah," he said, "nice to meet you."

Jack followed Dipper's line of sight. He was looking to the right of him, out the door. He sighed. He had seen it a million times before. A little kid would try to introduce him to an older sibling, and they wouldn't believe in him.

And they would have phony conversations until Jack couldn't take it and admit the older sibling couldn't see him. Then the child would be either yelled at by their older sibling that Jack Frost wasn't real, or the little child would yell at Jack for lying.

Jack wasn't going to tell Mabel. She was smart enough to figure it out on her own. And, besides, he could make any comments he wanted to Dipper.

"Your hat looks stupid." Jack noted. "It's too small and makes your head look bigger then it already is."

Mabel laughed. "Ha! You are so right!" She glanced at Dipper, who was staring at her like she was crazy. "Dipper, give Jack a complement back! That's rude!"

Dipper frowned. It was like Mabel was actually trying to get him to have a conversation with a person that didn't exist. You were never too young to be put in a mental hospital, he reminded himself.

And this imaginary friend was a boy that belonged to a girl, there were certain traits he was bound to have. They would be cute, but no way in heck was Dipper saying that. He almost regretted not reading Jamie's letters about Jack. He was really in a jam. Then, it clicked.

What do girls love more then sparkles, and unicorns, and rainbows, and, in Mabel's case, yarn and sweaters, more then anything else?

"Nice shoes," Dipper grumbled.

Mabel frowned. Her bottom lip quivered slightly. "You can't see him." She whispered. "Dipper, you lied to me."

Dipper blinked. "Wait, what?"

"You can't see him! Jack doesn't wear shoes!" She shouted. "And you don't even read Jamie's letters! He takes time out of his day to write them, and I bet you shred them like Stan does to his bills!"

Jack winced. "Mabel, calm down."

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? I don't want to calm down! He lied to me! Plus, I'm a teenage girl! DON'T TELL TEENAGE GIRLS TO CALM DOWN!"

Dipper looked around. "I didn't tell you to calm down."

"Jack did! Oh, but wait, I forgot, Jack Frost isn't real, right Dipper? He's just a figment of my imagination, right Dipper? And Jamie is just a child, right Dipper? And everything Mabel says is just for laughs, RIGHT DIPPER?"

"Okay, now I'm telling you to calm down."

Mabel's face, red as a fire truck, got redder. She looked like she should have had steam coming out of her ears. She grabbed Jack's wrist and dragged him up the stairs.

Dipper stared after her, a seed of guilt planted in his heart. And, the oddest part of it was that he could have sword he saw a little bit of fern frost sprout on Mabel's hand.

**Three words- DUN DUN DUN (wait, that was one word repeated three times...) R&R**

**~Dakota**


	7. Suicidal Werewolves

**_WARNING- MENTIONS OF DEATH, SELF HARM, SUICIDE, AND WEREWOLVES IN THIS CHAPTER!_**** Don't say I didn't warn ya. I even wrote it in caps. I own nothing, not GF or RotG. Don't rub it in!**

When Mabel and Dipper turned thirteen, they had to get different rooms. According to Stan, it was because of the "special" changes about to happen to their bodies. According to Mabel, it was because the twins didn't get along any more.

She kept the door to her room locked 24/7. It was only unlocked when she unlocked it, and she did that with her bobby pins. She usually had them in her hair, but, being so early in the morning and having forgotten to lock it when she was with Dipper, she was able to fling the door open in a fit of anger.

Jack flew back to avoid the door. "Whoa, girl." He said. "Heel. Sit- sit."

Mabel glanced at him sadly. "I'm not a dog."

"Or are you?" Jack said suspiciously. "You could be a werewolf."

The brunette glared at him playfully. "Well, now that you know my secret, I'm going to have to kill you."

"Rogue werewolf, rogue werewolf! Run for your lives!" Jack paused. "Wait, can you kill a guy that's already dead?"

"Wanna find out?"

"NO!"

Mabel chuckled. "Okay, so I think we both owe each other some explanations. My name is Mabel Pines. I know Jamie Bennett, and he told me and... Dipper," she spat out Dipper's name like poison, "about you."

She popped up off her bed. Humming her favorite Christmas carols, she skipped over to her desk and opened the drawer. After throwing around some yarn, glitter, and old boy band posters, she found her stack of letters. Mabel proceeded back to Jack and dropped them in his lap.

"These are my letters from Jamie- a total of 1,127. I've met him in person a total of five times, and, as of next summer, six." She said proudly.

"Cool- no pun, Mabel." Mabel frowned. Jack sighed wistfully. "I haven't seen Jamie in ages. How exactly did you two meet?"

"Oh, uh... councilor." She responded nervously.

"Hm? What, did you want to commit suicide or something?" Jack chuckled at his own little joke. How could such a happy girl want to do something like that?

Mabel rubbed her arm and turned away. "Yes."

Jack's face fell. He had met plenty of suicidal children, even saved a few of their lives. But Mabel Pines, the most bubbly, optimistic person he knew- suicide? Confusion took over his features. Mabel saw so from the mirror and sighed deeply.

"My parents sort of died in a car crash when I was twelve, before that, me and Dipper were tight. Inseparable. We shared a room until we were, like, thirteen. And he was pretty awesome before mom and dad died. Like, he would solve mysteries with me. We were the Mystery Twins!" Mabel giggled at the memory. "We had all sorts of adventures together. Like, we got shrunk, we switched bodies, I dated some gnomes, I kissed a merman, Dipper kissed the same merman, and a bunch more stuff I'll tell you later. Then, on our way back from Gravity Falls, a truck hit us."

She looked at the ground dejectedly. Jack stood up and wrapped his arm around her. His cold and very presence knocked her out of her daydreams.

"And mom died from impact. Dad died in the ambulance from blood loss. Dipper was in a coma for two days. I thought he was going to die and leave me all alone. I had a major concussion and a broken arm and leg and fractured skull. Dipper had two major concussions, three teeth knocked out, two broken legs, and he lost his left baby toe." She pointed to her left foot for added effect.

"Grunkle Stan, my great uncle, we went to him. He was out only living family, and he was happy to take us in after having us all summer. Well, not happy, I mean, our parents died, but... you know what I mean. Dipper tried to cheer me up for a while. For a full four months. But then it was like all at once, reality just sort of fell on him. Slapped him, punched him in the gut. We were parentless."

She shuddered at the memory. Her hands reached out for the closest thing she could get to, a stuffed animal, her grappling hook, something, anything. She met Jack's hand instead. She didn't care; it was, after all, something.

"So he ignored me. Threw me aside like a little kid would when he was done with a toy. And it hurt. Like, a lot. Then my friends, Candy and Grenada, got cool and left me for the coolest girl in town, Pacifica." Mabel growled at the names. "So I was really alone. The only person I had was my creepy stalker Gideon. My ex. Yeah... I bet you can see why we broke up. He was clingy and was taking things way to fast. Oh, wait, I'm off topic!"

"Well, the school got concerned and decided to send me to the councilor, Mr. Pennyworth. I called him Mr. P. He was pretty decent for a school councilor. And for a while, I thought I had a friend. But adults don't get kids, you know? They're all hard work and deadlines, and kids are all... all..." Mabel fumed, trying to come up with the words.

Jack offered a small smile. "Snowballs and fun times?"

"Yeah! It took me a while to realize that, though. So I let reality hit me like it did to my brother. It beat me up. And I was sick of it. I thought to myself, if life sucks this much, death has got to have something, right?"

"So, one night, I snuck out of my room. Went into the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife we had. I wrote out my sort-of will on a napkin and I..."

Mabel pulled up the sleeve on her bright pink sweater. On her left arm was a large gash, which was a white scar by them. It traveled all the way from just below her shoulder down to right above her wrist. It was deep and looked visibly painful, even for years later.

"I didn't mean to, but I screamed. It hurt, Jack. Dipper came rushing to my rescue. By then, I had already lost a lot of blood. I cut myself right on the vein. I was almost dead when I got to the hospital. But I was fine after a few stitches and some awesome donors blood. They sent me back to school where they teased me."

"No one knew, not even Dipper. They called me all sorts of horrible things. Sweater Sissy. Freak. Loser. (A/N: not aloud to cuss, so just add some cuss words if you want to here.) And, the one that hurt the most- orphan. Do you know what the definition of orphan is? Someone who is alone. Someone who is parentless." Mabel felt tears grow in her eyes. "I was so tired of being alone."

"I know what you mean," Jack mumbled sincerely.

"So Mr. P decided I needed someone to talk to. He gave me the address of a little boy in the small town of Burgess, Pennsylvania, who's dad was put in a coma after a severe car accident. His name was-"

"Jamie Bennett." Jack finished for her.

Mabel smiled. "Yeah. And he wrote these amazing stories, and he gave me hope. Real, actual hope, like I actually belonged in the world, and like I was needed. And it made me feel like I could do anything!"

"After a while, Candy and Grenada came back. They said Pacifica was being a butt-face and I was a better friend. And every day I came home and would almost always have a letter from Jamie. He tried to write to Dipper, too, but Dipper was... a lost cause." Her face fell. "And that was why I was so happy today. Because I thought he was found again. And it gave me the same sort of hope Jamie gave me."

Jack frowned deeply. "Oh." He said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Hey, it's okay." Mabel pulled the sleeve on her sweater down. "I'm good. I was found! Although now I have a question for you."

"Shoot." Jack said with a smile, pleased at her sudden mood change.

"Why are you still holding my hand?"

**Aw, man, I'm screwing _so_ badly with Mabel's life! And I feel _HORRIBLE_! BLARG! Tell me what to do next! i dont wanna make em kiss quite yet, and i dont want pitch to attack yet. gimme ideas, people! i need filler chapters! Review pwease. And don't worry, the story and her life and junk gets better!**


	8. Phonebooks for Pitch

**Don't own RotG or GF- still workin on that.**

In his room, a short Southern boy in a baby blue suit sat at his desk. The lights in the room were dim. A thin layer of dust had settled over everything except for the bed and desk. On the nightstand, the shrine to a certain older Pines twin had been moved from the door.

Gideon Charles Gleeful stared at his best picture of Mabel. She was at the school dance in that picture, with her sparkly red knitted dress, dancing around with her two not-as-attractive friends, Candy and Grenada. But, that was Mabel for you; always helping out the less fortunate.

He winced. If it wasn't for that stupid Pines boy, Dipper, then he would have his adorable sugar dumpling in his arms! Dipper, the stupid over protective big brother. And Mabel, always going along with his plans!

Gideon ground his teeth. He needed a way to get rid of that boy! He was broken, sure, but he was still in enough sanity to help her in times of trouble. And it was so, so, so amazingly annoying! Why couldn't he just give Mabel to him? Why was he so meddlesome?

"I need to get revenge on that stupid Pines boy, and that idiotic Stan." Gideon huffed, finger his picture of Mabel. "What do you think, my apple crisp?"

In a high pitched voice, and shaking the picture as he spoke, Gideon made his Mabel picture answer, "Why, Gideon, you need help! And who wouldn't be willing to help an adorable little old cutie like you?"

"Oh, why Mabel- ooh, not in front of the kids! Gideon Junior and Mabel Junior, go to your rooms!" Gideon shouted to two tiny baby dolls. He threw them into the toy box. "Little angels, my Mabel. I can't wait to have more."

"Gideon, remember the help?" He asked in his Mabel voice.

"Of course, my lollipop! Now, where to get help to get rid of a teenage boy. He already has a girlfriend, and she has problems with me. He is numb, except for his uncanny sense to help Mabel when she's in danger. And he has all sorts of magical information. Maybe... the phone book will have someone useful!"

One reading of the phone book later...

"GAH! WHY ARE PHONEBOOKS SO USELESS?" Gideon shrieked, throwing the yellow pages at the wall.

He grabbed his Mabel picture again. "Giddy, calm down, sugar."

Gideon took a deep, insane breath. He really needed a mental home. His little crush on Mabel had turned into an unhealthy obsession, complete with a fanatical relationship with said orphaned brunette.

"So what do you propose, my peach fritter?"

Gideon took his pudgy pointer finger and tapped picture Mabel's chin. "Perhaps your little ol' journal?"

Gideon squealed, almost throwing the picture across the room. He yelped and gently put his precious photograph back on his desk. The southerner jumped to his feet and ran to his bed, kicking up dust. He ducked under his large mattress and grabbed his journal.

There were supposedly three journals. Each was bound with red leather and was ripped and torn on the covers. The pages were yellowed with age and torn. On the front of each book was a golden, six fingered hand.

Depending on the volume, one, two, or three, was what number was in the middle of each hand. No one really knew exactly who the author was. Only books two and three were found. Gideon owned two, and Dipper owned three.

The boy took out his book, 2. He sat atop his bed and began flipping through the yellowed pages, looking for a way to get help to destroy Dipper Pines.

"Vampires, no Mabel loves vampires; amulet, no Mabel destroyed my amulet; blood rain- for the last time, darn journal- it'll mess with my SOUP!"

Gideon shouted. He threw the book across the room, huffing and puffing. Why could nothing go right for him? He bashed his head against the wall, screaming at himself. After a while, he soon calmed down.

Gideon's perfectly polished brown shoes clicked against the floor as he walked over to his book. He bent over and picked up his journal. To his surprise, he found the page it hand landed on, Egyptian Cursed Termites, was thicker then the other pages.

"My, my..."

He slowly peeled apart the pages. It read, making Gideon laugh, the Boogeyman.

"The Boogeyman? Mysterious author, why are you being so ridiculous? The Boogeyman isn't real!" The boy chuckled. He continued to skim the page. "He feeds off of fear, eh? And has... Night Mares? Hm. Can knock out a person and plague them with a thousand of their worst nightmares with a single ounce of nightmare sand... he sounds like my kinda guy. I wonder if he helps boys insistent on revenge..."

Gideon shivered slightly. He felt a chill dash through his spine. He could have sworn he was being watched. To confirm that he was alone, Gideon turned in a complete 360 circle. He saw no one, he was alone.

He ran his finger under the final line of that page, which had been almost shredded completely to bits. He frowned.

"All you have to do is believe."

The boy frowned. All he had to do was believe, and the Boogeyman would be at his whim? Nothing was that easy. Or was it?

"Okay, Mr. Boogeyman," Gideon said, turning to his window, "I'll believe in you, but only if you help me defeat the Pines family," Gideon walked over to his mirror, "once and for all."

Black sand swirled around him. It took all that Gideon had not to scream like a little girl and hide under his covers. It stung him. Every grain of sand that hit him sent a new chill down his spine, a new fear bolting through his mind, making him tremble.

"Gideon Gleeful," a voice, slightly British and colder then the Arctic if it was covered in dry ice in the middle of winter. "Well, the name isn't exactly threatening, but I admire your need for revenge."

Gideon whimpered. "Who's there?" He grabbed his Li'l Gideon Blunt Object. "I've got a Blunt Object, and I know how to use it!"

"My name is Pitch Black, the Boogeyman, and I want to help you defeat the Oaks."

"Pines."

"Whatever. And I have quite a good reason to."

Gideon blinked. When he opened his eyes, staring back at him in the mirror was his li'l ol' adorable self. But behind him was a man with no eyebrows. His had was slicked back like he had been standing in front of an electric fan for way too long. He had on black robes, which matched his black hair. He had horrible grey skin, like he was a corpse risen from the dead, but the worst part was his eyes. Entrancing, but diabolical. They were a mixture of gold and green.

"Pitch Black." Gideon mused. "The Boogeyman? And you are at my every whim?"

The Nightmare King frowned. "Uh, sure, kid. But I have been working on a plan. And if your willing to accept my offer, not only can we rid the world of the Guardians of Childhood, but also the Pines family, and, best if all," Pitch leaned in close to Gideon. Gideon decided the man needed to learn what a breath mint was. "Jack Frost."

**R&R!**

**~Dakota**


	9. Waddles Bit My Finger!

**As always, I own neither GR or RoTG.**

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IT WAS A- HAHAHA- QUESTION!"

Jack grinned deviously, running his fingers over Mabel's stomach. She was screaming at him to stop, but he was relentless. Mabel's one and only weakness (besides sweaters, sparkles, vampires, chocolate, anything sweet, pancakes... never mind) was being tickled. And Jack had figured it out in the two days he had known her.

She screamed in joy, trying to push his hands away from her. She had never been tickled like that in her life. Her stomach ached from laughing so hard.

"Say I'm mature!" Jack shouted.

Mabel laughed, their previous conversation coming to mind.

_Flashback_!

Jack wrenched his hand away, blushing. Mabel pursed her lips, thinking he looked cuter when he blushed. He tucked his hands behind his back, wringing his staff nervously.

Mabel grinned, realizing that it was the perfect time to tease him. She poked him in the stomach, grinning when he heated up even more.

"Jack Frost, what's wrong with you? Can you not hold a girls hand without becoming embarrassed?"

The winter spirit rubbed his arm. He glanced around the room until his eyes landed on her old grappling hook.

"Hey, what's that?" He asked, floating over to it.

The brunette scoffed, turning on her heels and toward her bed. She heard Jack fumbling wit the thing, trying to put the hook in place. She snickered as he heard his yelp after an air pressurized shot came from the tiny gun. Ah, the fun she used to have with that.

"You are so immature," she huffed. "You can't even hold a conversation with a girl without getting all red and trying to change the topic."

Jack turned toward her, blue eyes narrowed in distaste. He had his staff in one hand, her grappling hook (which he couldn't figure out how to retract) in the other. Mabel was still had her back toward him.

He growled under his breath. "Oh, yeah? You wanna bet? Who delivers all the snow all around the world?"

"Who is in my room right now not doing his job?" Mabel replied smugly.

"Who saved the world from the Boogeyman?"

"Who got help from the Sandman, the Easter Bunny-"

"Kangaroo." Jack corrected, a smile blooming on his face.

"Whatever; the Tooth Fairy, and Santa?"

Jack ground his snowy white teeth. An idea popped into his mind, which wasn't completely filled with slush after all! He crept toward Mabel, who was stubbornly facing away from him.

"Who," Jack asked, "is the worlds best tickler, whom will only attack if called," he sneered, "immature."

"Huh? That doesn't even have anything to do with what I was... I was... HAHAHA!"

_End of FLASHBACK_!

"HAHAHA- Jack Frost, i-if you d-d-don't le-let me go r-ri-right now- HA- I'll..."

"You'll what?" Jack asked, fingers moving faster. "Knit me a sweater?"

"YES!"

Waddles the pig opened his little black eyes. He was getting to be an old pig. When Mabel first adopted him, he was young- four years old. Now he was coming toward the end if his life, being almost ten. Most adorable pink piggies like him died at ten.

He was slow. Now, he usually only got up to eat and drink, to use the bathroom, or if Mabel needed real help. And at the moment, it seemed she was in desperate need of assistance from a brave pig like him.

The little pink boy got onto his hooves shakily. Waddles slowly trotted over to his owner, who took care of him through thick and thin, through warm and cold, through dull and sparkles. He scanned the scene. A white haired boy, who he had never seen before and had a long branch with him, was tickling his owner, Mabel.

Waddles grunted. He walked over to the little stairs Mabel had made for him so he was still able to get onto the bed. The pink pig watched the new boy grin evilly as his fingers continued to fly over Mabel's boney form.

The loyal pet narrowed his eyes. Evil smile. He knew evil well. Perhaps, he thought, evil was not the right word. Maybe mischievous was better. Either way, Waddles was not sure that he quite liked the strange boy that was tickling his master.

He bared is teeth, showing them off to the boy. Jack, meanwhile, did not notice the tiny farm animal that he crawled onto the bed menacingly. Waddles narrowed his beady black orbs even more, upset that the boys lack if respect for the pig.

Mabel squeaked, kicking and pushing Jack's hands away as he continued to tickle her. Her brown eyes were squeezed shut, tears leaking out from the corners of them. Waddles growled, attempting to get the boy to stop.

Jack grinned at the joyous tears coming from Mabel's eyes. "Say it!" He teased. "Say it!"

"N-never!"

Waddles sniffed loudly. He waited for the mysterious boys hand to approach him. As soon as it was by the pig, Waddles darted forward. His teeth clomped down on Jack's pale hand, digging into his skin.

"AGH!"

Jack pulled his hand back. Waddles was forced to release unless he wanted to be pulled off the bed, which he didn't. The pig crawled over Mabel and laid down on her stomach, making sure it was covered so Jack had no way to tickle his beloved owner again.

The poor, bitten winter spirit put his hand in his mouth. He wasn't really in that much pain, more in a shocked state, but he wasn't letting that... pig go easy.

It took Mabel a while to calm down. She felt a new weight settle on top of her, a familiar, warm weight. She grinned.

"Yes!" She cheered. "The Amazing Waddles has saved the day!" She sat up, Waddles sliding to her lap. The pig continued to glare at the mysterious boy.

"Hr brut mr!" Jack mumbled.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Mabel chided.

"Whonk." Waddles agreed, cuddling into Mabel.

The white haired boy glared at them, taking his hand out of his mouth. "He bit me!"

Mabel took Waddles and held him up by his two front hooves. "Did ya bite big ol' Jack Frost? Was he hurting mommy? Aw, what a good piggy! Who's a good piggy? You are, you are!"

Jack gawked at the girl, who continued to coo the adorable little pink creature. "But... but... he bit me! You can't give him... praise for that!"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "Well, duh!" Her eyes sparkled. "He can see you, Jack! Have you ever had a pig believer?"

"Uh... no."

"Well, now ya do!" Mabel turned Waddles around, who stared at Jack with unblinking black eyes. "Say hello to Jack Frost, Waddles!"

"Oink," the pig said.

"Uh... 'sup. I'm sorry for tickling your... master? Wait, why am I apologizing to a pig? What has my life come to?"

BOOM!

Mabel yelped, gripping Waddles tightly. The pig actually looked smug, glancing at Jack. Jack scowled at it. He shook his head. He was scowling. At a pig. Seriously, what had his life come to?

The girl stared out the window in mild horror. Rain splattered against the window. Lightning flashed across the sky. Thunder echoed around the small town of Gravity Falls. Mabel shivered, putting Waddles aside.

Jack smirked at the pig. He hit himself. For crying out loud, what was he doing?!

"What's up?" Jack asked.

"Thunderstorm." Mabel said quietly, grabbing her stuffed tiger. She sadly looked down at the ground. "I'm afraid of thunderstorms."

Jack frowned, looking out the window. "I could change it into a snow storm, if you want. To be honest, I don't really like rain either. Melts my snow."

Mabel looked at him, an expression of surprise crossing her features. "I love the rain! I just don't like the-"

BOOM!

She cried out in alarm again, jumping to her feet. She blushed and hung her head.

"I just don't like the thunder and lightning parts." Mabel shivered. "A little rain has never hurt anyone. Like my mom used to say, 'You're not sugar, you're not going to melt!'" A small smile appeared on Mabel's face. "But lightning kills, Jack. It kills. And thunder is just unnatural."

Jack considered that for a moment. "BOOM!" He shouted.

Mabel screamed and hid under her covers. Jack laughed at her. Waddles glared and bit his hand again.

"Ouch!" Jack screeched. "Waddles bit me! And it really hurt!"

* * *

**Yeah, sue me. I borrowed that from YouTube. Also, I don't know if I should make Waddles, like, pass on in the story. He is getting old, and it would be a great bonding experience for Mabel and Jack. Or maybe Mabel and Dipper. Hm... tell me what ya think in the reviews! Also, I have spoilers on my profile. I didn't give too much away, though, so... yeah...**


	10. Hard-to-Get

**Kinda a shortie here, more of a filler chappie. I don't own GF or RoTG**

Mabel stared out the window intently. Jack stood behind her, Waddles at his side. Maybe the pig wasn't so bad after all. The little pink creature was very comforting to the brunette, and Jack respected that.

Jeez. He had respect for a pig. Maybe he needed a shrink. Jack chuckled at the thought. A shrink for the immortal mischievous teenage spirit of winter and Guardian of Fun. The shrink would need a shrink.

Mabel didn't even flinch at the chuckle, although she whimpered as another crack of thunder rumbled throughout the sky. Jack wasn't quite sure of what they were doing, but he did have to admit it- watching the rain was the teensiest, tiniest bit interesting. Although it would have been better if it was the snow.

The sky began to lighten. Mabel seemed to perk up a bit. Ten minutes later, the clouds were a soft silver, and no thunder had been heard or lightning been seen.

The teenage girl squealed in excitement and grabbed Jack's hand. Jack frowned as he was dragged down the stairs. Waddles slowly trotted behind, his old age getting to him.

By the time the swine had caught up, Mabel was tugging on pink rain boots. Jack watched with curiosity. She grabbed a nearby yellow raincoat and shoved a green one at Jack. He stared at the water resistant jacket in his hands.

Mabel glared at him as she began digging through the drawers of a table. "Well?" She asked impatiently.

"Well, what?" Jack asked.

"Put it on!" Mabel cried in exasperation. "I mean really, what do you think we're gonna do?"

"I don't really know what's going on." Jack admitted.

"We're going outside to play in the puddles!" Mabel explained. "This is the best time to do it. And here." She kicked over a pair of grey rain boots. "So you don't accidental freeze the puddles or whatever."

Jack frowned, staring distastefully at the shoes. He was not going to wear shoes. He would not ever be caught dead in shoes. Why would someone wear shoes when they had the option of feeling the cool earth beneath their feet, the cold snow between their toes, the feeling of life at their roots?

He caught Mabel's eyes. She looked up at him with the biggest, brow nest, saddest orbs e had ever seen. She was like a toddler, cute and irresistible.

No, Jack would not give in! Puppy dog eyes would not work! HE WOULD NOT GIVE IN! No shoes, no shoes! But Mabel's eyes were just so tempting... No! Shoes were for losers! Maybe just five minutes wouldn't hurt, right? NO SHOES!

Jack sighed and sat on the ground, struggling to put the boots on. Mabel grinned and turned back toward the drawer. She gave a small gasp and help us two pieces of torn fabric.

"Waddles!" She shouted, "did you chew up mommy's gloves? Aw, you ripped them! Now I have to knit a new pair!"

Jack stuck out his tongue at Waddles. The little piggy glared up at him. Mabel shot them both looks before she continued.

"After," she said, "I take Jack outside to play in the rain."

The winter spirit pointed down at the pig. "Isn't he coming with us? Like, with the pigs, and the dirt, and the water being added to the dirt, making mud... yeah..."

Mabel and Waddles glanced at him oddly. "Uh, Waddles doesn't even like the mud. It's a rude, stereotypical opinion that no one even bothered to approve!"

Jack held up his hands. "Wow, you snap easy. But I'm not apologizing to the pig again. He should apologize to me. He bit me!"

The brunette grinned. "Fine. You don't have to apologize to the Amazing Waddles, but you do have to be sure not to complain when you go out in the rain."

Jack smirked. "Fine, but you have to promise not to kiss me when we're both soaked and call it your 'romantic moment,' because I know what you girls do. Besides, it's hard to resist this." He gestured to his face.

Mabel blinked at him. "Well, I'm not the one flirting." She replied calmly. "Come, Jack, to the outside world!"

Jack frowned after her. He glanced down at Waddles, who looked mildly surprised as well, looking between his master and the boy.

"Whoa, pig. She's playing hard-to-get." A grin appeared on his pale face. "Good thing I like a good game."


	11. Mud Mud And More Mud

**I owe you guys a decent chapter, cause chapter ten wasn't good. So here. I don't own GF or RotG.**

A huge arc of water flew overhead. It crashed onto the ground just as gracefully, melting into the already slick street below. A pair or bright pink boots and grey boots sloshed through puddles, sending more of the fallen rain to new locations.

Mabel grinned. Her hair was beginning to plaster to her head, but she loved the feeling. It made her feel more alive some how. She loved any feeling other then pain and loneliness. Those feelings sucked. But at the moment, the only thing that could possibly dampen her mood was the rain.

"Wow," Jack said sarcastically, "this is so much fun! I'm standing in the middle of the forest, cold, wet, and tired!"

"You're a cranky old man, aren't ya?" Mabel asked, kicking another puddle. "I thought you were the Guardian of Fun?"

"I am not a cranky old man!" Jack whined. "And I am the Guardian of Fun, it's just that this isn't so, I don't know, fun."

"So, you're the Guardian of fun, right?" Mabel said, waving off the rest of his comment. "Well if you're so fun, then actually try to focus on something other then snow and just kick back. Have some fun with someone other then a couple of kids that are six. Just focus on me and you and the fun we are having right now, at this very moment in time. Right now."

"What fun?" Jack demanded.

His reply was a splash of water to the face. Mabel laughed at him, her boot soaking wet from the puddle she had launched on to the winter spirit. The boy scowled at her as she skipped away, triumph written on her face.

Jack scowled. He bent over and picked up a handful of mud. It was nothing like snow. Snow was soft and cold and good for building. Mud was drippy and dirty and couldn't keep it's shape. He sighed, knowing that Mabel would find a way to kill him if he used snow. Mud was the best thing he had at the moment.

He smushed the wet dirt into the shape of a sphere. It was falling apart in his hands as rain poured down on it. Jack grunted and begged MiM it would stay in contact just long enough to hit its target...

The mud ball was launched at a smug brunette. She was disappointed Jack wasn't a fan of the rain, but she knew she couldn't please everyone. And apparently Jack was just another one that fell into everyone.

In fact, that was what her boy crazy stage had been about. There are millions of boys in the world. Only one was for her. Only one of those millions could be her true love, whom she had her happily ever after with. And every boy was like a moment- if you didn't get him right then, he would be gone.

She flirted with every boy she had ever met until her parents died. When they did, she realized that maybe love didn't exist. Maybe it was all a hoax. It was depression speaking, she knew it, but it still seemed true at the time.

Then, she came to a new, better realization. She was trying to hard to find love. She had been trying to force it. That wasn't right. Love came naturally, like the moon and the sun, the land and the seas, the Yin and the Yang. And she wasn't supposed to go out and find love, love was supposed to go and find her. And when love finally made its way to her, she would know in her heart who the guy would be the second she found him.

She hadn't found him yet. Even Mermando, her wonderful merman boyfriend (who she was pretty sure was now another ex, she didn't get bottles from him anymore), wasn't him. She just needed a little more time.

Something hit her in the back. Mabel yelped and toppled forward, landing face-first into a puddle of the horrible Gravity Falls mud. It was sticker then most mud, and the color of it was a very light brown. One of the many mysteries of Gravity Falls.

Mabel spat out a mouthful of the disgusting wet dirt. The distinct sound of laughter was heard from behind. Mabel flipped onto her back to see none other then Jack Frost pointing and laughing at her.

The twin wiped mud off of her face, glaring daggers at the winter spirit. Sometimes boys just needed to learn not to get a girl angry.

She formed a ball of her own out of the sticky mud and chucked it at Jack. It splattered all over his face, sending him back into a puddle of rainwater in surprise. Mabel snickered, pointing at the fallen boy.

"It's ON Mabel Pines!"

* * *

"Die, Jack, DIE!"

"You can't kill me!"

"Watch me!"

"Ah!"

Mabel splattered the boy with even more mud. The two teens were covered in mud, only speckles of skin, clothes, and hair showing from raindrops cleaning them.

Any bystanders saw an insane teenage girl running around in the yard, covered in mud, as blobs of the wet dirt would fling themselves at her. They would slowly walk away, glancing back nervously at the girl. Mabel saw a mud covered boy chasing her.

She darted behind a maple tree. Mabel giggled uncontrollably, hearing clumps of mud thwacking against the tree. Jack has amazing aim, she thought, letting the rain start to clean her off.

"Mabel, I know your there~!" Jack sang. "Come out, come out!"

The girl sucked in a breath as she felt the temperature drop twenty degrees. She bent her knees, preparing for an attack on the spirit. Her brain alerted her that was the most likely the oddest thing she had ever done, attacking a spirit with mud.

"BOO!"

"HI-YA!"

Mabel leaped from her hiding place, tackling Jack to the ground. She was also on the ground because of it, but she didn't really care.

She laughed as the water from the puddle they landed in splashed onto them. Mabel felt the mud melt off of her. The cold water refresher her slightly. She grinned down at Jack, of whom she had pinned his arms to the ground and had his legs trapped under her own.

"Do you surrender?" Mabel demanded.

"Never! I will not surrender!" Jack shouted, flailing his head around.

Mabel gave him a small smile. "You know, you kind of look sort of normal right now."

"Huh?"

"I dunno, it's just the mud made your hair brown." She briefly let go of one of his wrists to ruffle his hair. "All brown and wild and stuff. And you have on shoes and a jacket, and you left your staff by the Shack. So you kinda sorta look a teeny tiny bit normal."

"Oh." Jack replied. "Well, you look crazy. Your hair is all like," Jack struggled to free his hands to help him gesture. After realizing the attempt was fruitless, he said, "everywhere, and you have mud on your face, and you look like your gonna kiss me."

"Eww!" Mabel squealed, jumping off of Jack. "Boy cooties! That's gross!"

"Yeah, nod I'm the one that's immature!" Jack teased loudly, bouncing to his feet. "Yes, I'm free~!"

Mabel scoffed, crossing her arms and pouting. "I'm not immature! Whoa, like, total déjà vu right there!"

**Yeah, so, I have big tests next week and the week after (stupid school) so I can't give any promises if I'll update. But I probally will cause pitch gives me nightmares when I don't. Stupid pitch and his obsession with my stories...**


	12. Rain Painting and (Almost) Kisses

**I own nothing but the plot.**

Rain began to fall from the clouds a little faster. They were darker, a deep grey. Any mud left on the arguing teens was washed away.

Mabel gasped in joy. Before Jack could comprehend what she was doing, Mabel turned on her heel and darted back to the Shack. Jack grunted, realizing that he couldn't fly without his staff and had no choice but to follow in pursuit on foot.

Stray branches from trees whacked him in the face. He splashed his way through mud and water puddles, wondering how on earth people could just waltz right through that stuff. Flying was so much easier. Although, the downside to flying was the everlasting loneliness of the sky.

Tooth and Sandy, the Tooth Fairy and Sandman, were the only other Guardians who could fly. Jack was fond of them both, but it was hard to understand Sandy and Tooth was constantly barking orders to her Mini Fairies. And the wind just didn't talk. Ever. Plus he had to watch out for planes and balloons and jets and things along those lines. It was usually easy, but it could be annoying at times.

He came to the cleaning where the Mystery Shack sat. It was a rundown old cabin, which was changed into a tourist trap. Popularity had gone down over the years, although it remained quite famous to stupid tourists.

The boy wandered around the lot. He grabbed his staff, swinging it back and forth as he whistled his favorite song, The Christmas Song. The song with his name in it. The song he had been singing when he found Mabel and she had attacked him. Good times.

The brunette, who had smoothed down her hair, was found on by the picnic area (two picnic tables next to the parking lot) behind the shack. She had a large piece of paper laid out on the ground, stuck under the two picnic tables so not to fly away in the wind. The rain saturated the paper, a few puddles forming on top of it.

Mabel had set out several bowls of powder. By then, the powder was wet and stirred, becoming paint. She was looking around, seeming to be searching for something. When her brown orbs, which had an extra glint from the raindrops on her eyelashes, landed on Jack, she visibly relaxed a bit.

"Good. I thought I was going to have to go looking for you!" She scowled. "You didn't get lost in the forest, right? No running into any mysterious creatures?"

"Mabel, it's a forest." Jack replied easily. "Plus, I doubt anything could see me."

She shrugged, pointing out that Waddles could see him. Then again she would read Jamie's letters aloud for him, thinking Waddles enjoyed the stories. Apparently he enjoyed them enough to start believing in them.

"What are you doing there, exactly?" Jack wondered aloud.

Mabel rolled her eyes at him, walking over to the bowls of paint. She gestured for Jack to follow her. She snatched his staff away, throwing it over to the opposite picnic table. Jack winced slightly.

The girl showed him her hand, small and delicate, like that of a dolls. She glared at Jack until he repeated her movement. She plunged her hands into two bowls, the colors pink and purple. Jack put his hands into the blue and yellow paints.

"And now...?"

Mabel grinned. She ran over to the large canvas on the ground and threw her paint covered hands onto it. She rubbed the paints all over the paper, colors trailing her hands. The rain pattered onto the paint, smearing it, making it soak into the paper.

When the paint on her hands ran out, she looked very proud. It looked like the aura borealis, but brighter and more beautiful. Even though it was still, Jack could have sworn it was moving, still following her hands.

"I call it Rain Painting." Mabel explained, wiping under her eyes, accidentally smearing a bit of pink paint on her cheek. "I started doing it after my mom died. I had been painting outside in anger, and it started pouring. And it smeared this angry, ugly thing into something beautiful, and it changes beautiful work into something better. I love it."

Jack bounced up and down, clapping his hands and making the color green. "My turn, my turn!" He cried like a young child.

He fell onto his knees and began to smear paint on the canvas. Mabel yelped and pulled his hands up, leaving purple finger prints on his rain coat.

"No!" She shouted. "No, that's not what you do!" She dipped her hands in the orange and red paints. "Like this- big, even strokes. Make lots of swirls and curves." She dragged her hand across the page, leaving rainbows of colors after them.

Jack frowned. "Like... like this?" He tried to copy her.

Mabel giggled and leaned over him, taking his wrists. She moved them around the page like she had been doing. Jack watched the art that followed his hands.

"Whoa." Jack breathed. "Look it, I'm doing it!"

"Jack, you're out of paint. You just look like some idiot rubbing his hands all over the paper."

The boy blushed slightly and ran over to the table, engulfing his hands in paint again. He grinned and began to paint again. Mabel laughed, echoing his movements.

For an hour, the two simply painted. The rain poured harder and harder, soon making the visibility so dim that they could only see the canvas and each other. They laughed as they fought for the last of the paint in the bowls.

And for one moment, everything was perfect. But every moment must come to an end.

BOOM!

Mabel let out an ear-splitting scream. Lightning began flashing across the sky like a laser light show. The thunder came just as quickly, sending the orphaned twin into a panic attack. She dove under a picnic table and into a puddle of water. The distinct sound of her sobs sounded from her position.

Jack frowned. They were in the heart of the storm in an open field, and were the tallest things around at the moment. Mabel had the right idea, but he could practically sense her fear from there. And fear when Pitch may be around was not good. Not good at all.

"Mabel?" He asked gently, walking over to her hiding spot. "Mabel?"

She sniffed loudly. Her head was between her knees. Her shoes were covered in the muddy puddle she knelt in. Her sobs were muffled from her head being hidden.

Another clap of thunder clapped, sending its heart-stopping sound across the state of Oregon. Mabel squeezed her knees tighter together.

"That's me," she replied quietly to Jack.

"You wanna... I dunno, go inside?"

Lightning briefly illuminated her face. It made her look shadowy and vulnerable, weak and scared. Shadows hung under her brown eyes, turned black from the lack of light. Her milk chocolate hair was a shade darker from the mud and being wet. The words that would describe her popped into Jack's head- sickly, frail, terrified.

"Inside?" Mabel repeated quietly. "With Dipper?"

"Mabel, it's getting late." Jack alerted her, grabbing his staff off the table. "And the storm is only going to get-"

BOOM!

"...worse." He finished with a sigh, watching Mabel cower. "Come on, if we run we can make it in without getting too much wetter. Race ya?"

Mabel looked up at him, eyes dark with fear. "I'll stay here. It's safer for me and my feelings."

"Mabel!" Jack whined loudly. "I'm not gonna stand out in the rain all night and wait for you!"

"Then go deliver snow and happiness and fun to the children of the world and go visit Jamie and Sophie or whatever."

Jack grunted, swinging his staff over his shoulder. "You are very stubborn." He noted. "And you have a better chance of getting struck out here then in there."

This seemed to make Mabel wake up a little bit. "Good point. But what about Dipper?"

"Just ignore him. Boy'll be boys, just let him cool off a little bit."

"Okay then, girlfriend." Mabel joked, her tone still shaky.

Jack scowled and held out his hand. Mabel flashed him a smile, braces free. He helped her out from under the table. Mabel bounded over to the canvas. She grabbed two of the corners of the plastic bag she had placed under the paper.

After being shouted at, Jack took the other two corners. Mabel winced as thunder boomed, but laughed as Jack tried to race her to the front porch of the Mystery Shack. They laid out the rain painting on the deck.

Mabel giggled, squeezing water out of her hair. "Okay, okay, I admit it, I feel safer. You won. Happy?"

Jack shrugged, leaning against his staff. "I won, huh? What did I win- a kiss from a pretty girl?"

"Ah, ah, ah," Mabel said with a wave of her boney finger. "No kissy-kissy. Remember? I can't have my 'romantic moment' in the rain."

"Dang it!" Jack said with oozing sarcasm. "Thought I had ya!"

"Oh, please, I wouldn't kiss you if you were the last guy on Earth!"

Jack hooked the crook of his staff around Mabel's waist, pulling her toward him. She yelped as the boy leaned in close to her, close enough for her to feel his cool breath on her skin.

BOOM!

She let out a small scream, latching onto Jack. He grinned at her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Mabel turned bright red, unsure of what to do next. And he did look sort of cute when the raindrops shone in the lightning...

"SQUEE!"

"Ow! Why does that pig show up at the worst of times?" Jack cursed.

Mabel let out a relief filled giggle. "Yes! The Amazing Waddles has saved the day!" She ducked out of Jack's staff and grabbed her beloved pet.

Jack rolled his crystal blue eyes. "More like the Amazing Pain in my-"

"DON'T FINISH THAT SENTENCE!" Mabel shouted.

Jack smirked. "I was going to say neck, but..." Mabel punched him in the arm. "Ouch, okay! Jeez! It's not like I even wanted to kiss you anyways. Girls are groooossssssss..."

"You really are immature." The brunette tucked a wet lock of hair behind her ear. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

The boy raised his dark eyebrows. "I have a job, Mabel. I can't just spend every moment goofing off and hanging out with some mortal girl who I don't even really know."

Mabel blushed harder if it was even possible. "Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought that-"

"Ha!" Jack laughed. "Gullible! 'Course I'm coming back. I'll meet you here, tomorrow at noon, no exceptions, no being late. On the dot." He gave a mischievous grin. "And I'll be throwing in my own little bit of fun, sweetie."

"My name is Mabel."

Jack shrugged and kicked off his boots and peeled off his jacket. "Thanks for the fun day, Mabel. See you at noon."

"Noon." Mabel agreed.

Jack saluted her and flew off the rainy night. Mabel watched after him, heart still skipping the beat that it had when Jack wrapped his staff around her. And almost kissed her.

"Waddles," Mabel whispered, barely loud enough for even herself to hear, "I think I'm in love."

**thanks to all who reviewed! Except for Sophiedog162. OSHA made me wanna go die in a hole. (Lol, I say that cause she's my BFF). See you next chapter IF YOU REVIEW!**

**~Dakota**


	13. Memories from 2012

**I own these cookies *holds up cookies and gives to reviewers* but not GF or RotG**

Mabel skipped upstairs to her room. Dipper had already fallen asleep, and the distinct snores of Stan echoed through the Shack. She felt better that she had finally admitted her feelings to herself, but to Jack... that on its own was an entirely different problem.

She slowed to a walk as she entered her room. It wasn't the room she had worked so hard to get when she was twelve, but it had been given to Dipper. He lived in the mystery room, while Mabel remained in the overly cluttered attic.

The girl set Waddles on the ground. The pudgy creature waddled over to his comfy little bed, which was a box stuffed with scraps of strings and screwed up sweaters. Mabel gave a smile to her pig before excusing herself to shower.

The warm water from the shower head created a cloud of steam. Mabel watched as her reflection was fogged over. She put her hand against the glass, watching the steam disappear. She sighed as it fogged back over.

The brunette undressed and stepped into the shower. The rainwater and bits of mud washed off of her body and down the drain. Mabel scrubbed her hair and washed, trying to rub away the pain that she had let resurface that day.

After at least a half an hour of letting the warm water run over her skin. She got out with reluctance, but knew any longer would get her shouted at for the water bill. Mabel toweled off and changed into her nightgown. She had updated it so that it was still long sleeved and down to her knees, but it was a dark green with a purple peace sign on it.

Mabel attacked her hair by rubbing a towel in it to dry it off. She ran a brush through it, pulling it into a loose ponytail. She went back into her room, the only sounds her own breathing and the grunting of a sleeping pig.

Mabel looked out of her window and saw that the raining had stopped for good, although some grey clouds were still hanging around. She sighed in relief and collapsed onto her bed, which was so welcoming after her tiresome day. She grabbed her stuffed tiger and held it above her head, talking to it.

"Oh, Stripes, I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored. I'm tired, too, but I don't want to risk a nightmare. Or a, you know," she shuddered, "Night Mare."

The tiger stared down at her with its black button eyes. Mabel gave a small smile and hugged Stripes close to her.

"What a good tiger! But what am I gonna do?" She let out a long, deadpanned groan. "I'm so BORED!"

She let her hands go out in a large gesture both ways. Her tiger flew to the left, into the pile of boxes that had taken over the space of Dipper's old bed. Mabel yelped and ran after her favorite stuffed animal.

It had landed in a box that had never been taped shut. It was open, although the flaps made it look close, both being down. Mabel took the box down from the place just above her elbows and but it onto the ground.

She tore open the box and grabbed Stripes, curling into his fur. "I didn't know you could fly," she mumbled. "Hey, what's that?"

Mabel leaned over the opened box. Inside was a hard covered book with four words and a number on the light blue cover- Adventures in Gravity Falls 2012. There was a picture of Mabel, Dipper, Wendy Courdy (a former worker at the Mystery Shack, then in college), Soos (another former worker, but moved to Florida), and Great Uncle Stan. Mabel paled slightly, pulling away her hand.

"Gravity... Falls... 2012..." she breathed. "This was before mom and dad..." she cut herself off.

The brunette shakily reached for the scrapbook. It fell onto the ground, opening itself to the first page. On the first page she had a few shards of glass from things she had broken on her first few days of working. There was some pictures of the Shack and forest, and some badly taken pictures of Dipper, Soos, Wendy, and Stan.

After a few pages she found an old piece of beard hair from some gnomes she and Dipper had fought. There were some pictures of the destroyed Mystery Cart, the Mystery Shack golf cart and the Most Distracting Thing on Earth, one of d Mystery Shack attractions. After staring at the latter for a while, Mabel shook her head and flipped the page.

There were some pictures of the Gravity Falls lake and the Gobblewonker, the lake monster. Mabel had also taped some of the letters from her hat on it. She had a few pictures of Gideon, but she had drawn mustaches on his face and devil horns. She had some photos of Grunkle Stan and Dipper's first chest hair. Later on were some pictures of Mabel and her pet pig Waddles. She had a scrap of the body-switching carpet and shards of the size-alerting crystals.

In the very back was a picture of her family. Mabel slammed the book shut, feeling clammy and slightly sick. In every single picture she and Dipper had been grinning ear to ear, unless Mabel had squished the camera up against their face. Had she really once been so... happy? With... Dipper? She almost gagged.

That was the old Dipper, she thought sadly. The Dipper that would lightly tease her and was overprotective. At was the Dipper who cared about her and was funny. And now her brother had basically disowned her. She grabbed the scrapbook and marched over to the window.

Mabel held the book far over her head and opened the window. She couldn't have something that made her brother look like that again. Dipper was different. She couldn't live in the past, three past was too painful.

Her hands refused to let go of the book as she tried to throw it to the ground. She would have been delighted to have the pages dissolve in the puddles and see the pictures of Dipper be splattered in mud. But her hands wouldn't let go.

"What the?" She shouted. "I never put glue on this thing! Let go you stupid hands!"

Her pale little fingers tightened on the scrapbook. She sighed and closed the window, taking the book with her. She put it on top of her desk, next to Jamie's letters. She mumbled to herself about how stupid she was being as she plopped down next to the box of memories.

"So," she said to herself, "what else is in this box?"

* * *

Gideon looked at himself in the mirror. His platinum hair had turned to a smokey black. His odd teal eyes had changed to a golden green. His adorable baby blue suit had transformed into a black suit, and his baby soft skin was then grey.

He ran his chubby hands through his large mound of black hair. His transformation was wonderful, he felt power corse through his veins.

There were downsides to being a fearling, of course. Only believers could see him, and he would be seventeen forever and ever, unless killed in battle. And fearlings didn't regenerate, like the Sandman had.

The bright side was that he had power. He had more power then any amulet could ever give him, although it was not as much as Pitch's. Gideon could control the Night Mares and nightmare sand, although he could only make the Night Mares as big as a dog. He could travel through the shadows and had heightened senses.

Gideon flexed his grey fingers. A little bit of nightmare sand dripped from his nails and into his palms. He let out a chuckle, his voice slightly deepened from the transformation. It had been painful for sure, Gideon had screamed and struggled and even cried, but it was worth it. He would finally get his queen.

"My son," Pitch said, placing his hand on Gideon's shoulder, "my Nightmare Prince. You shall hold that title with honor. And never, ever," Pitch's grip tightened as he spat out the final words, "will you turn the the side of good. Of the Guardians."

The southern boy nodded. "Will Mabel go through a similar change as I did?" He wondered. "Will you change her, so that we can be together forever?"

Pitch inwardly rolled his eyes. "Sure," he lied, "why not? I could always use another fearling. But in order to get her, we need to weaken her. And when she is weakened, the Guardians will spend all their time protecting her, and they will weaken."

"How do you weaken her?"

The man gave an evil grin. "Me? Why, it is you, son, that shall weaken her. Humans use sleep as energy, and if she can't sleep, she weakens."

Gideon scratched his head, smirking deviously and reaching to unbutton his suit. "So you want me to go and do... _it _with her?"

Pitch looked horrified. "What? NO! A nightmare, you idiot! That, that is just... I am beginning to regret this decision."

**REVIEW AND GET LOLLIPOPS! AND GIDEON HAS PROBLEMS! Weeeeeee...**


	14. Everybody Dies

**Ha! loved your reactions to gideon in the last chapter. serious lol moments. Mentions of death, blood, and minor gore in this chappie. I don't own either animation.**

Mabel laughed, wiping snow off of her face. "I'm gonna get you back!" She shouted.

Jack grinned, already creating another snowball. "Doubtful, Mabes. You have no aim what so ever!"

As he finished that sentence, a snowball hit him square in the chest. A look of shock washed over Jack's face. Mabel grinned, gaining a high-five from her twin brother and a light punch in the arm from Jamie, as well as a hug from Sophie,

"Man, Mabel," Dipper noted, "this is your coolest dream ever. You'll have to thank the Sandman for this one."

"Yeah," Jack piped up, "this is pretty awesome. I am here, after all."

"She is my best friend." Jamie bragged joyfully.

"No!" Sophie hissed, baring her teeth. "Mine!"

Mabel gave the boys and little girl a large smile. She had her brother and her crush and best friends with her. They were having a fun snow day in a large open field, with endless snow. Mabel wasn't even cold! And Dipper was acting like normal Dipper again, like her overprotective little brother. Sophie was being silly and arguing with Jamie, and Jamie was just like the Jamie she knew and loved like a little brother. And Jack was still acting like Jack, which she hoped never changed.

The snowball fight between the three continued. Mabel, Sophie, and the teenage boys laughed and joked, having the most fun Mabel remembered having in years. Everything was perfect. She was having the perfect dream.

A cloud passed over the sun, darkening her dream. Mabel shrugged and blew into the sky, imagining the cloud going away. It was her dream after all.

Instead of going away, the cloud grew in size, getting darker and darker. Bits of it fell to earth, but it wasn't like cotton candy. It was a black sand, which sent chills up Mabel's spine at the mere touch of it.

Dipper, Jamie, and Jack ran to her, surrounding her on all sides except for the top. The brunette grabbed Sophie, pulling her close, sensing the danger around her. Mabel felt cold crash onto her like a wave, as if her sense of touch decided it was time to wake up.

"Don't worry, Mabes, we got you." Dipper assured her.

"No one is getting past us without a fight," Jack agreed.

"I'll fight 'til I collapse." Jamie declared sternly.

Sophie bounced forward, pulling herself away from Mabel. "I'm fighting, too. I'm a big girl."

A cold voice whistled by them in the wind. "M...a...b...e...l..."

The brunette whimpered, hugging herself to keep in warmth, and out of pure fear. "What was that?"

There was no answer. Mabel looked around, and, to her horror, saw Dipper, Sophie, and Jamie on the ground, their crimson blood soaking into the snow. All eyes were glazed over, staring at Mabel as she covered her mouth in horror. A black arrow was impaled in Dipper's stomach. Jamie had a large crack running across his skull. Sophie had teeth marks all over her arms and legs, her face mangled.

"Dipper!" She screamed, falling to her knees. "Sophie, Jamie!"

"M...a...b...e...l..."

She twisted her head around as she searched for Jack, lifting Dipper's lifeless head into her lap and pulling Jamie and Sophie to her sides. Their blood was flowing onto her skirt, but she didn't care. There may have still been a chance for them all, but she needed Jack Frost.

"Jack!" She shouted, scanning the land around her. Her brown orbs were met only with the blindingly white snow, the only color on it the blood of her beloved friends and younger twin. Tears filled her eyes. "JACK!"

"Jack Frost can't help you now."

Mabel gripped her dead brother, little girl, and best friend, blood dripping from her hands. "W-who's t-t-there?" She stammered, fear engulfing her quiet tone.

"It's me, Mabel." Black sand swirled in front of her, taking on the form of a boy. "Me, Gideon."

The girl shrieked, hugging the deceased even tighter. If they hadn't been dead, he would have died from the pressure Mabel was putting on his lungs.

"Gideon?" She questioned softly, although her voice was hard.

"Mabel, look at what you did to me." Gideon gestured to himself. He looked like a fearling, even in her nightmare. "You changed me because you don't love me."

"Because you tried to kill my brother and kidnapped us and-!"

"You changed me," Gideon interrupted, his voice a hiss, "you abandoned me and my love. And I can't have that. I want you."

The black sand that had brought Gideon rose from the ground. It zipped to Mabel and, like a million ants, bored into her eyes. She screamed in pain and terror, bringing her bloody hands to her face to keep the sand out.

Soon, the agonizing pain stopped. Mabel hesitantly opened her eyes. Surprisingly, she could still see out of them. The pain was dimmed down extremely, although still noticeable. She scanned her surroundings. She was in a concrete room with no exit whatsoever. A heavy metallic sent up hung in the room. Mabel felt scared, like the shadows were going to kill her.

She looked down at herself and almost screamed. Her body was covered in a thin sheen of red, giving off the metallic smell that she had noticed. And she could tell it wasn't her blood. It was Dipper's and Jamie's and Sophie's, who was surely dead, innocent but dead, with no chance of revival. Their bodies were nowhere on sight.

"M...a...b...e...l..."

She tugged at her bloody brown hair. That voice. She was going to go mad at that voice! Every time she heard it, a new wave of horror washed over her body.

"Jack," Mabel whispered, her words echoing off the walls, "Jack Frost, I need help. Please."

"Jack Frost," the cold voice hissed, "will never come to your aid. He is the prince, you are the fair princess locked away. And your prince, my dear, shall never, ever come."

A bright light flashed on, temporarily blinding Mabel. She covered her eyes until they adjusted to the new light, which was like a 276,000,000,000 watt LED light bulb.

She looked around. She was still in the cell, but it was different. The shadows were gone. She sighed, the light being comforting. She put her face into her hands, trying to hide from the voice like she had the lightning.

The light dimmed until she was almost in complete darkness. She never knew black could be so... black. It sent creeps through her body.

"Mabel Pines."

Mabel opened her eyes. In front of her floated two golden eyes with flecks of green among them. Two swirling black vortexes were in the center of them, sucking away any last hope Mabel had. She whimpered, cowering under the gaze.

"Mabel Pines," the man repeated, toying with her name. "Orphaned at age twelve. Oh, I've enjoyed that. I've been feeding off of your fear and your fear alone for the past four years, child. Four years. You're the only one that had fear of me, that still believes in me."

"What do you want?" Mabel said quietly. "Who are you?"

"Me?" The LED light returned, shining over the eyes. It revealed a man with grey skin, black hair, a black robe, and eyes as described before. "I am the Boogeyman, the Nightmare King, the Ruler of Fear, the Emperor of the Night Mares- Pitch Black."

Mabel's mind clicked. That was a dream. She controlled her dreams. And she didn't want the Boogeyman or Gideon in her dreams.

"Boogeyman, huh?" Mabel pondered. "What an intimidating name! Ooh, the Boogey-Man is gonna kill me! What are you gonna do, pick your nose, do a little jig?"

Pitch grinned at her. It was always fun to destroy the courage of children. "Much worse," he growled.

Another light came on. Mabel leaned to the right, looking around the Nightmare King, to see what was there. And what she saw made her cry out in horror.

Jack was chained against the wall. He was beaten and bruised, blood dripping from his mouth and streaked through his normally snowy white hair. One of his eyes was swollen shut. Any exposed skin, usually so pale, had turned purple with red blood dripping down. His clothes were torn and his staff was nowhere in sight.

"Jack!" Mabel yelled, trying to get to her feet to assist the spirit.

The rattling of chains met her ears. Mabel looked at her wrists and ankles, shocked to see shackles around her. She pulled against them in desperation, trying to get to the beaten boy. His good eye twitched at the enormous racket she making.

Pitch chuckled at Mabel's struggling. "You see, Mabel, this is my realm. This isn't a dream, where you have complete control. This is exactly the opposite- it's fear."

Jack slowly opened his good eye. It shone blue, giving color to the darkness. Mabel smiled, her heart pounding. He was still alive. Maybe she did have a little control after all.

"Mabel...?" He mumbled groggily, locking eyes with her.

Mabel nodded in excitement, getting as close as she could to him. The gap seemed endless. "I'm right here."

The Boogeyman let out a low growl. He appeared at Jack's side, and glanced at Mabel. "It's not hard to break a child," he hissed, "who is already broken."

More of the black sand Mabel had learned to fear appeared in the mans hands. A tiny tornado of the dreaded substance whirled, and, when it died down, there was a small black dagger, the blade twisted and rigid, a barbwire like substance around it.

Giving Mabel another look, his eyes filled with amusement, Pitch raised the knife to his shoulder and grinned down at the crumpled boy before him. Mabel whimpered, choking out screams, pleading for the Boogeyman to have mercy.

Mercy was not in his vocabulary.

He plunged the blade into Jack's neck, right under his chin. Jack, so beaten and bruised and in pain, let out a small squeak of pure suffering. Mabel could have sworn Jack looked right at her before taking his final breath, his bright blue orbs telling her 'you killed me.' Then his eyes glazed over and his chest stopped rising. Blood trickled down his hoodie and onto the ground.

Mabel squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her face. Her breaths were short and shallow. She clenched her little doll hands, nails digging deep into her palms. Her heart was shattered. She never got to tell him...

"Look at how broken you are, how scared," the Nightmare King cooed. "It's delicious."

Her amber brown orbs slowly opened. They were bloodshot and tired, worn, broken. Mabel felt broken. She had no more fight left in her. Everyone she loved was dead. Her brother, an innocent little girl, a smart young boy, and her crush; all dead.

Pitch drank up the look of hopelessness on her face like a cool glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. The light illuminating him shut off, although he tortured Mabel by keeping a spotlight on her dead lover.

"And now, Mabel," he hissed, "it's your turn."

The last thing Mabel saw before she was engulfed in a horrible inky darkness was a terrifying pair of golden green eyes rushing toward her.

**R&R.**

**~Dakota**


	15. Wicked Witch of the Northwest

**remember, I own noting.**

Mabel hit the ground with a hard thud. She gripped her forehead, pain shooting through it. "Ouch!" She complained loudly.

She kneeled on the ground, rubbing her aching head. Her blanket was tangled around her body, which Mabel struggling to escape. Her nightmare came rushing back to her. She took a sharp breath, looking down at her tiny hands.

They were as pale and clean as ever, not a drop of blood on them. She gave a shaky laugh, a relieved smile on her face.

"Thank goodness it was just a nightmare," she sighed in relief, leaning her head against the wall. "Ow!" She bolted back up, the wound on the back of her head being triggered into sending another wave of discomfort through her head. "Uh, I need an aspirin."

The brunette struggled to her feet. She went over to her box of memories, where her sweaters from when she was twelve were stacked. The girl picked up the first one she saw, which was her blue sweater with a computer cursor on it.

Mabel slipped it on. The sweater was a bit snug, lining her body in a flattering way. She stepped into a pair of light purple tights and a purple skirt that stopped at her knees, then put her delicate little feet into her black boots.

The girl slid on the banister down the stairs, something she had gotten accustomed to. Mabel landed gracefully on her toes and made her way into the kitchen. She poured herself a bowl of Frosted Loops. She chuckled, thinking of Jack.

Jack. She cringed, an image of her nightmare flashing in her mind. She shoved cereal in her mouth, trying to distract her brain. The overly sweet flavor knocked her into concerned thoughts of a sugar rush.

"How much sugar do they put in this?" She asked. "It's sooooo yummy!"

She mechanically shoveled more of the sickly sweet cereal into her mouth. Mabel couldn't help but kick have her mind wander back to her nightmare. Gideon... Pitch... Jack... Dipper... Jamie... Sophie... it didn't make any sense. She wasn't afraid of Jack or Jamie or Sophie or Gideon! She was only afraid that Dipper might snap at her. And what could Pitch do, give her nightmares?

She sighed, glancing at the clock. 11:55. Mabel put her dish into the sink and wrote a note to her Uncle and brother, explaining she would be out with a friend. Which friend, she didn't put. It didn't matter, anyways. It's not like they could see him.

Mabel put on a heavy jacket with a white color on it to match the color of the cursor on her sweater. A gust of cold wind hit her, and, to her utter delight, she saw that Jack had placed a thick layer of snow on the ground. She dragged herself onto the porch and swung her feet over the raining, sitting on the posts. She stared into the sky, waiting for a certain winter spirit.

She swung her feet. Her heels hit the posts, once a second. She found it as a beat, and began humming her very own original tune. Time seemed confused, unsure of whether to fly by or to drag by. Mabel eventually lost track of time.

When she decided it was about time Jack got there, Mabel checked her watch. She had been sitting there for over an hour, it was almost two thirty in the afternoon! She let out a nervous grunt, worried that maybe her nightmare was reality. She hadn't, after all, seen Dipper that fine morning. And Jamie was writing less and less.

She turned around, glancing in the window. To her relief, Dipper was inside making himself lunch, a sandwich. Mabel visibly saddened as she jumped off the railing and began her way down the path, trying to hide her pain.

After a while of moping for herself, thinking about how rude it was for Jack to yell at her about when to meet her and then ditch her, Mabel realized she had wandered to the middle of town. She pulled her jacket closer around her as she sat at an ice cream parlor, closed for the season, at an outside table.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," she mumbled, face palming herself with every word. "Mabel, you were so incredibly stupid to think he would come back. No cute boy ever comes back to a girl like you. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"Well, the first step to getting over having a problem is admitting it. But a girl like you could never get over a problem like your stupidity."

Mabel growled, grabbing fistfuls of snow to keep herself calm. "Pacifica," she growled.

Pacifica Northwest, the most popular girl in all of Gravity Falls, and Mabel's most famous torturer. She tortured her even before Mabel was orphaned.

"Mabel Pines," Pacifica greeted coldly, in a time that reminded Mabel of Pitch. Their names even started with the same letter. "What are you doing here, little orphan girl?"

Mabel jumped to her feet, the word orphan triggering her temper. "I just so happen to be awaiting the arrival of a super cute boy, cuter then any guy some crazy blonde could get." She snapped.

Pacifica's violet eyes widened slightly. "Oh, really? No guy in Gravity Falls would give a sissy like you a second glance!"

"He's not a freak like every boy in this town!" Mabel screamed. A few boys from the town glared at her. "Uh... sorry!"

Pacifica gave a cold laugh. "Freaks? Have you met my little boy band, Sev'ral Times? Remember, Creggy G, Greggy C, Leggy P, Chubby Z, and," she sighed wistfully, batting her eyelashes, "Deep Chris, who ditched you for moi after you kicked them out?"

"Moi?" Mabel questioned, sincere confusion in her voice. "Isn't that the forgiven exchange student from Japan?"

"NO! It's me, you dimwit!" Pacifica laughed coldly. "Besides, no guy would look at you. You don't have a drivers license or," Pacifica reached into her pocket and took out the latest iPhone, "a cell phone."

Mabel reddened a tad, but she wasn't giving up. "Oh, yeah? Well, uh... YOUR FACE LOOKS STUPID! Even a clown doesn't wear that much makeup!"

A low whistle greeted Mabel's ears. "Oh, sweet, who's the cute blonde?"

Mabel glanced up. A familiar tuft of white hair floated a few feet above her. Mabel knew she could have reached up and touched him, but she would have looked crazy to all the other people in the small town. A smile graced her lips at the mere sight of him, though.

"And a cat fight?" Jack continued, eyeing Pacifica. "This is some morning!"

"Mabel!" Pacifica snapped, knocking the girl away from her glaring at Jack. "Listen, loser, why don't you just go crawl back into that miserable hole that you manage to call a home and leave me alone? I just came to do a little Christmas shopping, and running into you has ruined my day. Besides, I hate the cold!"

Jack winced, putting his hand or his heart. "Ooh, right in the heart there, Blondie."

Mabel smirked. "If I remember correctly, Pacifica, it was you who came to me. I was just sitting here, minding my own business-"

Pacifica shoved Mabel backwards. The brunette was cut off from her sentence as she fell onto a gutter. The ice had frozen over the gutter. Melted ice and snow had gathered on top of it. The water sloshed onto her previously white jacket, turning it to the color of a murky brownish-green. It smelt like rotting fish. The sewer water ruined her sweater, tights, skirt, and messed up her clean, short chocolate hair.

Mabel felt tears well up in her eyes. She scrambled onto the curb, her legs getting tangled together. She wasn't used to being tall, she had only gotten her growth spurt in October, and although she was pretty good with her longer legs, she wasn't amazing with them.

Pacifica pointed at the ruined girl and laughed. As long as she had the upper hand when she had to go against Mabel. She was jealous of the pretty brunette. If she was better then her in any way possible, Pacifica had to break her down.

Jack winced. Poor Mabel. He had seen Waddles' bed, which was many a half knitted sweaters and string scraps, so he had inferred that she made all of her sweaters by hand. And that sweater she had worked so hard to make was ruined, because of one stupid blonde.

He had only flirted to see Mabel's reaction. Plus, not in a million years would a brat like Pacifica be able to see him. And the snob had the nerve to laugh at Mabel when she was down! Weren't girls supposed to fight in silence?

"Mabel-" he began.

The brunette shot him a warning look. Jack frowned, holding his hands up in defense.

She stood up, the water dripping off her clothes. "Pacifica Northwest," she growled, "you are a heartless, soulless brat that doesn't deserve a sewer rat from the New York City subway system to love her. And if you ever find the decency to appreciate what people do for you, it will be to late. The only reasons you have 'friends,'" Mabel put air quotes around friends, "is because they're afraid of you. But I'm not."

Pacifica paled visibly, even under her seven layer of makeup. Without another word, Pacifica ran her dangerously sharp, perfectly manicured nails down Mabel's arm. Small gashes were opened in her already ruined sweater, and blood trickled out of newly opened wounds. Mabel had a brief flashback to what Pitch did to dream Jack.

Pacifica stormed off. As she passed under Jack, the winter spirit made a good pile of snow appear in her shirt. Her screams made him chuckle as she danced around, trying to get the cold slush out from her four layers of clothing. All purple, which was an unflattering color on her.

He turned to Mabel, who was wet and cold. When Jack offered to help, Mabel shoved him to the side and trudged back to the Shack. To her dismay, Jack remained hot (or should I say cold?) on her heels.

"What'd I do?" He demanded the entire way back, only responded to by the silence Mabel gave him.

At the front porch of the Shack, after hearing his annoying question at least 159 times, Mabel couldn't take it any more.

"You left me!" She hissed. "Noon, you said, right here. In this very spot. I waited for an hour and you didn't show!"

Jack sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "So it's, like, three now?" Mabel nodded. "Sorry. I got sidetracked, honestly. I was in Georgia. They're, like, three hours behind, so I was sure I was right on schedule."

A wave of guilt washed over Mabel. Jack was giving her big blue eyes and a pout face, with his bottom lip jutted out and quivering. Mabel was a sucker for a good puppy-face. Even a person with a heart of stone would have cracked under Jack's face. He could get away with murder.

"Fine, you're forgiven." She mumbled in annoyance.

"YES!" Jack fist-pumped.

"But," she continued smugly.

"Dang it..."

"You need to show up on time from now on. Here." Mabel unclipped her watch. It was a hand-me-down from Dipper when Stan refused to get her one of her own. She placed it in Jack's outstretched palm. "No more being late."

Jack flipped the watch over in his hands a few times, examining the battery in the back and tapping the face a few times. Mabel helped him put it on. After a while more of tapping and experimenting, Jack grinned.

"Thanks." He said. "For the watch and stuff."

"Thank you for doing that snow thing to Pacifica. She can be a real jerk-aholoic at times. Which is all the time."

"Yeah, she has a really weird name, too. She's like... the Wicked Witch of the Northwest!"

Mabel gasped. "Whoa! That is the best!" She chuckled nervously at the cute grin Jack gave her. "Hey, wanna see the finished rain painting?"

"Sure, love to,"

* * *

**no kissin yet. Hahaha, I have a good idea for that. Also, awesome news! I HAVE OVER ONE THOUSAND VIEWS FOR THIS STORY! I literally screamed when I saw that (thank god no one was home)! Thank you all for reading, and review! Review, because I know your out there...**

**also, Sophiedog162, I'm sorry for not updating yesterday. I had a ton of homework and a doctor appointment and a babysitting job..Yeah...**

**~Dakota**


	16. Friendly Nightmares

**THIS CHAPTER IS FOR YOU Doc The Medic!**

* * *

Mabel slipped on her shooting star sweater. It was from her summer trip from Gravity Falls, and had always been one of her favorite sweaters. She put on white tights and a yellow skirt before tripping out the door, brushing her clean hair (she had showered, after all).

Jack tapped his watch when Mabel exited the shack. "You wasted another hour of our day!" He scolded her.

She flashed him a smile. "So much for 'girls are so groooossssssss..."

He glared at her. "If you're going to use what I say against me, I'll just hang out with another teenage believer."

Mabel rolled her eyes. "There are none like me! I am one in a million, a diamond in the ruff, a-"

"MABEL! Who is that cute boy that you are walking with?"

"He is, like, a total rock star!"

Mabel wanted to bang her head against a wall. Why did her best friends have such horrible timing?

Jack poked her cheek. "So much for a diamond in the ruff."

"Where there is one diamond, there are more." Mabel grunted. "Now just try to act normal for a while."

Before she could see Jack's nod, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and lift her off the ground, and a pair of weaker arms wrap around her waist.

"Attack her with love!" Candy shouted as Grenada swung them side to side.

Candy Chiu was a short Asian girl with a robotic accent. She had large glasses and gleaming black hair that went down to her shoulders. As always, she had on her striped blue-and-teal shirt and an olive skirt. Her socks went up to her knees, covered by her skirt. Two black-stud earring sat in her ears. She was one of the shortest people Mabel knew, three inches shorter then herself. And Mabel was considered short.

Grenada, on the other hand, was a large, beefy girl who had a manly voice. She had a simple red mole on her cheek and a brown ponytail. As always, her pink shirt said, in darker pink letters, COOL, which most people believed she was not. She wore long purple pants and sneakers. Unlike Candy, Grenada towered over Mabel by a good four inches. Jack was still taller, but the mere presence of Grenada was intimidating unless you got to know her well.

"Who is that boy?" Candy asked when she and Mabel were released. "If I was not dating Dipper, he would be my second choice." She let out her annoying, high-pitched giggle. "Boys make me think about... KISSING!"

"CANDY!" Grenada shouted, putting one of her large hands on her own cheek. "Oh my gosh!"

She shoved Candy into a snow bank. Candy's head popped up. "Ow," she mumbled.

"Candy and Grenada, this is Jack. Jack, this is Candy and Grenada. You remember me talking about them?" Mabel introduced.

Jack nodded, looking the girls up and down. "There something wrong with your voice there... Grenada? You have a cold or something?"

Grenada reddened extremely. "What? No! Why do people keep saying that? It makes me want to put them in a headlock and make them feel pain!"

Jack cringed, taking a step back. "Nope, no headlock for me. Just... your voice is totally normal! Heh, heh..." he said anxiously.

Candy appeared by his side. She lifted his arm, examining his skin. She stood on her toes and combed through his hair. Jack looked around nervously, looking desperately at Mabel for help. The brunette giggled.

"I have never met a real albino boy before!" Candy gushed as she continued examining Jack's hair. "Do you feel any odd tingling sensations."

"I certainly feel odd," Jack grumbled.

Mabel pulled the short girl away from Jack. He let out a breath of relief, running his fingers through his hair in attempt to restore it to its messy, former self. Mabel couldn't help but notice the slight look of annoyance on his face at her friends.

"Girls, be polite." Mabel said sternly.

Candy peeked around Mabel. "Can we give him a makeover and make him beautiful?"

"BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL!" Grenada agreed, stomping on the ground.

Jack yelped, hiding without success behind his staff. "No!"

"We could dye his hair," Candy gushed.

"And give him eyeshadow," Grenada added.

"With lipstick,"

"And blush,"

"And eyeliner,"

"And mascara,"

"And change his clothes,"

"And give him some toner,"

"And-"

"NO!" Jack shouted. "I'm not a girl! I don't do makeovers!"

Mabel chuckled to herself, watching as Jack fumed about him being a boy while her friends continued to gush about what type of makeup to put on him. Mabel thought to herself about how he looked perfect the way he was.

"Girls," she said, sounding a bit in a daze, "no makeovers for Jack."

"AW!" The two whined in unison.

Jack held up his hands. "Yes! Score one for the Jack!"

"But we could make him look so pretty!" Grenada moaned loudly.

"What has happened to you, Mabel? You seem different." Candy noted.

Mabel shook her head, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. "Different? What, who, me? Different? Nope, I'm the same as ever! Totally wild!" She waved her arms in front of herself to empathize wildness.

"I think she's lost it," Candy mumbled sadly. "Right, Grenada?"

She glanced at Grenada, who was making out with a magazine. That was what they were doing before they ran into Mabel. "THIS IS GRENADA TIME!" She shouted.

Candy looked between Jack and Mabel. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she whispered something in Grenada's ear. The bigger girl went through a similar reaction as Candy. Both put on over-stretched smiles as they tried to look normal.

Oh, boy, Mabel thought, they figured out I kinda sorta like him. And she was spot on.

"Me and Candy have to go do some Christmas shopping," explained Grenada.

"So we'll just leave you two alone," Candy finished.

They slowly turned around and took long, slow steps toward the town and grinning like idiots toward Jack and Mabel. Grenada turned around a gave a not very discrete wink to Mabel, while Candy gave her two thumbs-ups.

Mabel face-palmed herself, slowly sliding her hand down her face. Her friends were so annoying and obvious. She just wanted to disappear. On the bright side, Jack could not have been more oblivious to the situation.

"What the heck was that?" Jack demanded, pointing after the two girls.

"That, my dear Jack Frost, was the confusing creature you men like to call the woman, or the girl, and that was the confusion at its peak."

"You're not gonna get that confusing are you?"

"Eh, they're nothing compared to yours truly."

"Well, I'm screwed."

A few hours later, Mabel was glaring at her bed distastefully. She could not take another nightmare like the one the previous night. She would no doubtfully go insane.

Jack sternly floated a few inches off the ground by her side, pointing to the bed with his staff. "Bed, Mabel, now."

"No." Se said stubbornly, crossing her arms.

"Mabel." He repeated.

"No."

"May!"

Mabel blinked. May? Well, that was new, for sure. A small smile graced her pale lips as she thought about her nickname.

"May?" She echoed tauntingly. "That's a cool nickname!"

"May, you're off topic. And, also, I know, right? It just kinda, boom, popped into my head there, and I was like, hey, I'll just tell her and see what she thinks and like- GAH! You've infected me with your confusing girl-ness!"

The girl grinned, giving him a shrug.

"Never mind that. Why won't you go to bed? Want me to check under it for the Boogeyman?"

"You're not funny." Mabel said blandly. "He was in my nightmare last night. I have a lot of nightmares. More then I have dreams."

She took her hand and tilted Jack's chin upwards. No scar, no gash, nothing from her nightmare. But it was so real...

"And if I go to sleep, Pitch will come back and kill Sophie and Jamie and Dipper and... and you again." She whispered softly. "I can't go through that again. It hurt me so much."

Jack didn't respond for a while. Mabel sighed and sat down on her floor. It was kind of creepy to tell someone they were in your dreams after only knowing them for a few days. Even so, she was not going to bed. She wasn't even remotely... yawn... sleepy...

"I'll tell the Guardians."

Mabel's eyelids, which had been closing, flew open. Her heart pounded at a million miles a minute, butterflies welling in her stomach. She gave a tiny grin, her brain screaming at her.

"The Guardians... of Childhood? The ones Jamie always talks about? Really?" She asked, excitement bubbling in her tone.

"Hey, I'm a Guardian, too!"

"I know, but... it's amazing! Just think about it!"

Jack cocked his head. "Having the Guardians of Childhood being told about the Nightmare King, who we thought was defeated and would not come back again for hundreds of years, and not knowing what Pitch wants with you, he may possibly kill you, while you have been plagued with nightmares for who knows how long?"

"Thanks a lot, Captain Buzzkill."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Okay, do me a favor and write down a brief description of your nightmare? Maybe Sandy'll be able to make something out of it."

Mabel hopped over to her desk. "Wow, I feel like I'm being interrogated by the police! This is so cool! And not a word from you."

She began to scribble down notes on the paper. In fact, her brief description became an entire page, front and back, describing the horrifying scenes she had seen and experienced in her nightmare. She also told about how many nightmares she had, when they started, and how bad they ranged.

She gave the note to Jack, who stuck it in the pocket of his hoodie. He forced Mabel into her bed, where she lay on top of her covers, pouting in protest. She looked tired and beaten, but determination gleamed in her chocolate orbs. She was not going to sleep any time soon.

Jack sighed, shaking his head. He forced the covers out from under her and threw them over her body. Mabel kicked them to the bottom of the bed, glaring at Jack.

"You are stubborn." He noted.

"As a rock," she agreed.

Jack took the crook of his staff and hooked it around the blanket. He pulled in up and threw it over Mabel again. Before she could react, Jack tucked her in. Mabel scowled.

"I'm not a child!" She shouted.

"Oh," Jack said, tapping his chin, "not a child? Then maybe I shouldn't tell the Guardians of Childhood after all."

"On second thought, wanna tell me a story?"

"No."

Jack turned and walked toward the window, which was cracked open. He felt something warm around his wrist, and looked down, seeing a hand. It was attached to an arm, which was attached to Mabel.

Her shining brown eyes were big and scared. She looked paler then usual, and very, very frightened at that.

"Jack?" She whispered. "The Sandman is your friend, right?"

"Right," he agreed.

"Could you maybe ask him, if its not too much trouble, to send me a good dream?" Her voice was quiet and shaky as she spoke.

Jack gave her a grin and patted her hand. Mabel recoiled, brining it back under the covers with her.

"Yeah, I'll ask. See if he can fit it in, okay?"

Mabel visibly relaxed, sinking lower into her bed. "Thank you," she mumbled, eyelids drooping, "for everything."

**Okie dokie, now the next chapter follows Jack, and I might add something in there about Mabel. And finally, we get to see the BIG FIVE! WHOOO... R&R.**

**~Dakota**


	17. THE BIG FIVE!

**Wee, so excited to write this! I do not own Gravity Falls or Rise of the Guardians, or any of the characters in either one. I do, however, own the plot of the story. So YEAH! Also, I'm not too good with accents so just bear with me. I'll get used to it... maybe... READ ON!**

"Phil," Jack greeted warmly, nodding to a yeti as he zipped by him.

"Grphluph!" Phil grunted after him, shaking his furry yeti-fist after the young Guardian.

Jack pretended to tip an imaginary hat, freezing a few elves to tick off his favorite yeti. "Guardian stuff, Philly; but we'll play later."

Phil grunted, crossing his arms in a way that said 'not likely you stupid flying boy.' The yeti turned back to a table of red robots, which he continued to paint, preparing for Christmas. It was, after all, just under a week away.

Jack landed on the ground, slipping his way around yetis and jumping over elves. The elves were pretty useless, they did nothing but scramble around and hurt each other. The yetis did all the real work. Either way, it was fun to mess with both of them.

"North! North~?" Jack called, ducking under the arm of a yeti, who had a large tray of toy trains in his hands... or paws or whatever. "North? Where are ya, big guy?"

Phil, annoyed with the constant yelling of the boy, stomped over and grabbed him by the hood of his hoodie. Jack grinned at the big furry creature, crossing his legs and swinging his staff over his shoulder.

Jack talked to the yeti, who wasn't listening, as Phil dragged the spirit to North's office. He threw open the big, heavy wooden door which separated the office from the rest of the workshop. The large man, Santa Clause himself, was behind a big, dark desk, working on a little ice sculpture of a teddy bear.

When the door flew open and hit the wall, North hammered too hard and snapped the head off the bear. Phil put his fuzzy hand over his mouth, hidden by his odd beard. North gestured from the bear and to the door, while Jack continued to watch, still cross-legged, dangling in the air.

"Vat have a told you about knocking?" Santa shouted, his voice making the walls rumble as he flushed. "Hov many times have I told you?"

Phil gripped his head, then face-palmed himself, and ran his hand slowly down his bear-like face. Jack took his staff and put it on the ground, swinging himself back in forth, waiting for a little attention. Phil grunted apologies.

"Vat could be so possibly important you vould have to interrupt?" North demanded, his face still bright red from anger.

Jack grinned, waving his hand childishly. "Hiya, North!"

Instantly, North's face seemed to brighten. Phil dropped the winter spirit onto the ground, giving him a sore bum. Jack scowled as North came over, towering over him.

"Jack!" North shouted with a smile. He gave a glare to Phil. "Out," he growled, "out. You have been SHAMED!"

Phil looked upset, and Jack could have sworn he saw little yeti tears in the corners of the big guys eyes. He almost felt guilty. Almost. In fact, he found it amusing. Phil dragged himself out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Jack was picked up by the scruff of his neck and thrown into a bear hug by Saint Nick. He gagged, kicked his legs in attempt of escape. North wasn't even fazed.

"Jack, so good to see you again!" He said, putting the boy down.

Jack gasped, rubbing his neck. "What is with you people and picking me up?"

"It is thing," North explained, rolling his hand to elaborate. "So, vat brings you to the Pole, and so close to Christmas?"

The younger of the two shrugged, twirling his staff nonchalantly. He took the head of the ice sculpture bear and froze it onto the body, gaining a grin from North.

"You see, I met this girl..."

One story later...

"...and, basically, she's had almost no dreams in the last, like, four years, and Pitch is in her nightmares."

North rubbed his white beard in thought. After a moment, he lit up a bit. "IDEA!" He shouted. "Ve vill call the Guardians!"

"You mean I have to tell it again?" Jack whined.

One Guardian calling and another story later...

"DONE! AGAIN!"

A look of shock had settled over the faces of the Guardians, except for North, who had heard the story once before. Even he seemed a bit unnerved by the story.

Toothiana, the Tooth Fairy, looked at Jack sadly. "Jack, why didn't you tell us before? When you first saw the Night Mare, you should have come to us immediately!"

"I was worried," Jack admitted sheepishly, "about Mabel. She hit her head pretty hard on that tree, and I barely caught her before she hit the ground. Plus, I froze the Night Mare, so I thought all was right in the world."

"Worried?" Bunnymund teased. "Does the big bad Jack Frost have a crush on a little girl?"

Jack turned red. "Shut up, you over-grown kangaroo." He mumbled, crossing his arms. "I don't have crushes."

"What'd ya call me?" Bunny demanded.

"Quiet, both of you!" Tooth snapped. Jack and Bunny hung their heads, shooting each other glares as the only female Guardian continued. "So she wrote a letter, yes, Jack? What does it say?"

Jack dug through the pocket of his hoodie. He pulled out the perfectly folded piece of paper, which was neatly put in an envelope, sealed with her signature on the front, written in pink, a little heart next to it. On the back it said, 'To: Sandman.'

He handed it to the little golden man. Sandy gave him a smile, of which he had plenty, and opened the envelope. Sandy scanned over it quickly, eyes growing wider as he went down. He glanced up at Jack a few times, even touching his own chin, confusing the others.

"Vat does it say?" North asked.

Sandy gave them a nervous look. He made many signs over his head, flashing so quickly and for so long that no one got any of it. As the other Guardians gave each other looks of confusion, Sandy blew dream sand out of his ears in annoyance.

After a few more failed attempts at communication, Sandy gave a silent grunt and handed the letter to Tooth. The fairy read the letter aloud, slowing down as she continued, slowly paling under her feathers. In the end, all eyes were on Jack.

"Oh, my," Tooth murmured, trying to force her eyes away from the newest Guardian.

"This is not good," North added.

Sandy rolled his eyes, a 'no, duh' look etched into his sandy features.

Bunny kicked at the ground. "Some imagination the sheila has."

"But she's always so happy, except for when it storms. She's afraid of storms. I don't know why she would have such an awful nightmare." Jack rambled. "Awful. Also, Sandy, Mabel would like to know if it would be too much trouble for you to send her a good dream? She needs the sleep, trust me."

Sandy gave a smile and nodded, a few grains of his sand falling to the floor. A long, golden ribbon of dream sand swirled around his fingers, and soon darted out an open window, headed in the direction of Gravity Falls.

Jack let out a breath he had been holding in, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders knowing Mabel would be good for that night. Maybe Pitch would even back off of her, knowing the Guardians were there.

"This Mabel," North mumbled, "hov old is she?"

"Sixteen. She doesn't drive because her parents died in a car crash." Jack reported. "Don't know what Pitch would want with her."

"What would Pitch want with 'er?" Bunnymund wondered, agreeing with the spirit. For once. "She doesn't seem special."

"She is so special," Jack grumbled quietly. "One in a million."

His heart rate began to speed up. He almost gripped his chest, unfamiliar with the feeling. His stomach lurched like he was on a roller coaster. What was going on?

"She's a teenager that believes." Tooth said sternly. "Isn't that enough?"

"I met two other teenagers that believed," Jack said, "Mandy and Splenda, I think. They were weird, weirder then Mabel, but they didn't seem like they were plagued with nightmares for four years."

Sandy raised his hand as the other Guardians continued their discussion. He grimaced, sometimes wishing he could do more then jingle softly so he could get their attention. But no, he had to do everything else to get them to listen.

The Sandman grabbed an elf and shook it like a bell. It jingled, more loudly then him, but the Guardians were deep in discussion about Mabel. He let out a silent growl, letting the elf hobble off. He made arrows, bouncing around and pointing to himself. No one noticed.

In a final attempt to be heard, Sandy made a hand out of his golden dream sand. It was much bigger then his own, but he could feel it. It felt like it was controlling his own hand. He lifted it up and made it strike Bunny, hitting him across the face.

"OW!" Bunny shouted loudly.

Jack snickered, pointing at the overgrown rabbit as Bunny gripped his cheek. Under his fur, it was bright red.

"Sandy!" Bunny shouted, "Crikey, why'd ya do that?"

Sandy gave an apologetic shrug. He pointed to Mabel's signature on the envelope, then made a little sand figure of Pitch. He felt his sand wither in disgust.

"Sandy thinks he knows why Pitch wants Mabel!" Tooth shouted with excitement evident in her tone. "Keep going!"

The little man let out a sigh of relief. At least they sort of understood him. He made a little sand figure of a girl, and showed the girl tripping and falling, her arm wrapping up in a sand cast.

North clapped his large hands. "She is clumsy!"

Sandy shook his head.

"She broke her arm?" Bunny guessed.

Sandy rolled his eyes, replaying his little scene.

"She's hurt?" Jack gasped, darting a few feet in the air. "Mabel!"

Bunny moaned and dragged the boy back on the ground. Sandy shook his hands quickly, making sure the boy know he was wrong.

"She's... she's in pain?" Tooth tried.

Sandy nodded, making little sand confetti fall around her as he did a little dance. Jack looked horrified. Sandy rolled his hands, letting them know he was going to continue.

He made little sand people of the big five, himself, North, Tooth, Bunny, and Jack, floating around in a circle. They floated around the girls head, who still had her cast on her arm.

"She is a puppeteer!" Tooth cried.

Sandy glanced at Tooth doubtfully. She gave a shy smile and shrugged.

"She has telekinetic abilities?" North attempted.

Sandy glared at them. He made a little cloud surround the sand big five, which still floated above the hurt girls head.

"She thinks about us all the time?" Bunny groaned. "That's a bit creepy, mate."

Sandy shook his head furiously. How could he made it anymore simple? Jack, who had calmed down enough to look at the pictures, took his guess.

"She still believes." He mused. "She's been through so much pain, yet she still believes."

Sandy fell onto his knees, a huge smile on his face. He shook his fists in the air, silently mouthing the word 'YES' over and over again. Jack frowned, mumbling about Tooth getting confetti and him getting Sandy thanking the Man in the Moon.

"Vell," North said slowly, "she is not in pain right now. Jack vill go back to the Falls and vatch over the child until the end of the month. If no harm is done and Pitch does not appear again, ve shall give her monthly check-ups until ve are sure Pitch is no threat, yeah?"

"You want this bloody show-pony to watch over a girl and keep her safe?" Bunny asked incredulously, green eyes bulging. "That's rich, mate."

"Unless you have the time, Bunny?" Tooth asked.

Bunny didn't reply.

"Besides," she continued, hovering around Jack, "Jack is much more fit. He already knows the girl, plus he still isn't as well..." she cleared her throat and said in a lower voice, "known or seen, and he looks the most normal of us, so if he is seen, people might just mistake him for a normal teenage boy!"

Jack nodded, finding the plan good. Mabel would most likely get annoyed with the kangaroo before the dawn broke, anyways.

"Ve vill call if anything else shows up on globe." North swore. "Have fun!"

"Not too much fun," Bunny warned.

Jack rolled his eyes. "You don't even know her, Bunny."

And with that, he flew out the window.

* * *

"You don't even know her, Bunny," Jack declared before rushing out the window.

Pitch gave a diabolical grin, rubbing his grey hands together. Foolish Guardians, not checking the shadows. He transported himself back to his lair in Burgess. One of the cages in the air supping back and forth, a whimpering male voice coming from the cage.

Pitch went over to the globe, watching in distaste as the lights shone brightly, all over the globe. He had once been so close... almost all the lights out, the believers gone...

The Nightmare King growled. A Night Mare nuzzled him sweetly, sensing his horrible pain or remembering. Pitch caressed its head (it was the closest thing he had to a creepy cat that sat in his lap), taking the paper out of its mouth.

It was really nothing, unless you knew what secrets it held. It was a simple piece of paper with paint smeared on it, torn from the corner of a much larger canvas.

"Say goodbye to your little lover, Jack Frost," he hissed.

**I shall ask the questions on your mind- who is in the cage? What is Pitch's plan? When will he give the FINAL ATTACK? Will Mabel ever need to meet the other Guardians? Can you get lollipops? Well, I only have the answer to the last one, and it is no. You get cookies, BUT ONLY IF YOU REVIEW!**


	18. Rent and Letters

**I own nothin, got it? GOT IT?**

_**Alter ego: Dakota, calm down!**_

**SHUT UP!**

* * *

Mabel stared, dumbfounded. "What the heck would take the corner off of our rain painting?"

Jack shrugged, staring at the painting on the porch as well. "I have no idea."

Mabel got on he pr hands and knees and ripped off the other corners of the painting. The I true then looked perfectly rounded, making Mabel grin.

She handed one to Jack. "Here ya go." She said. "You go show your Guardian friends what we did later. Tell Bunny that his eggs are nothing compared to the power of Jack and Mabel and Rain Painting!"

"He won't like that. I'm in," he smiled.

May stared at the other two corners in her hands. She let out a small squeal and dashed into the Shack, Jack not far behind. She sat at the dining table and took out her pen and paper she used for writing to Jamie.

"I'm gonna mail these to Jamie and Sophie." She declared. "Oh my go- Jack, wait right here!"

She jumped up and sprinted up to her room, grabbing her camera. It was one she had gotten four years back, the only surviving disposable camera out of seventeen from the expedition to the Gravity Falls Lake when Dipper and Mabel tried to hunt down the elusive Gobblewonker, the lake monster of said lake.

It was always Mabel's favorite camera, especially after she did a little tinkering and made it so that the pictures printed after she took them. It took while to update a cheap camera like that, but it was worth it. Mabel liked to recycle.

She slid down the banister and ran into the kitchen. Jack was staring at his watch intently as Mabel screeched to a halt, tripping into her chair.

"TIME!" Jack shouted. "That took you thirty-eight seconds."

"New... high... score!" Mabel panted, leaning back in her chair. It fell backwards, making her scream. "Woo-hoo!"

"Crazy," he mumbled, shaking his head.

"Insane!" she snapped back. "Say cheese!"

She snapped a photo of Jack, it printing out of the camera. She held it up to his face. Jack looked dizzy and disoriented in the picture. He shook his head and grabbed the camera.

"My turn."

He put his arm around Mabel with one arm and took the picture with the other. Mabel knew she was blushing, but at least she was grinning as well. She shoved the photo into the envelope

"Now watch as a pro writes a letter to her BBF- Best Burgess Friend." She chuckled and began her letter.

Jamie-

Hey! It's Mabel, your favorite Gravity Falls girl! Sorry I haven't written in a while, but I have an awesome, amazing, awesome excuse! You'll never ever never guess who I met in the forest, and its not a vampire!

I MET JACK FROST!

Yeah, you read that right, Jamie Bennett, I met the Jack Frost you always write about. See, I have a picture and everything. Plus, those little corners are from a rain painting we did together. Funny thing, though, one of the corners was missing when we checked on it this morning.

So, you wrote your last letter in history class? Jamie, when I get to see your report card, you better have at least a B in that. It may be boring, but you gotta do it. Trust me, good grades are the key to a good life and happiness and... whatever.

Tell Sophie I'll get right to work on her sweater! Aw, man, I can't wait to see you guys this summer! Jack says that the Guardians said that if Pitch haunts my nightmares again, I get to meet them! I mentioned Pitch was haunting my nightmares, right? Yeah, well, he is. I'll, uh, I'll keep you posted on that.

Ugh, Jack is getting impatient, so I have to cut off my letter here. Sorry, Jame, but this winter spirit is super annoying. He so cray-cray, you know? OW! He just hit me. Now he's laughing. I bet you're laughing too, you jerk. Write me soon!

-Mabel Pines

She sighed, noticing the short length of her letter. Usually they were twice, if not more, then that length. She folded it up and stuck it in the envelope anyways, hoping Jamie would write back soon so she could tell more of her adventures with Jack.

Jack followed as Mabel walked outside and stuck the letter in the mailbox. She seemed a bit happier after writing to Jamie. She seemed overall more cheerful that day, claiming it was from a goodnights sleep. Jack reminded himself to thank Sandy for that.

Jack pointed toward the forest. "Wanna go explore?"

"Heck, yeah!" Mabel sang, running toward the forest. "Race ya!"

"No fair, you gotta head star-"

A deep, gruff voice interrupted him. "Mabel, come inside! I have some business stuff I need to talk to you and Dipper about!"

Mabel sighed, slumping her shoulders as she trudged back to the Mystery Shack. "That's my Grunkle Stan," she explained. "He's a scam artist and con man, but he has an okay heart if you ever get to know him pretty well. He likes to have business meetings with me and Dipper. Dipper helps with his taxes and I give new ideas for the gift shop."

Jack floated by her, on his back, kicking his legs as if he were doing backstroke. "Sounds like you and him, your brother, are pretty tight."

"Nah, I'm mad at him right now. And after my nightmare the other night," she glanced at Jack's neck for a scar, "I'm not sure I can bring myself to see him."

"It was just a nightmare," he pointed out.

"I had his blood all over me. It was more then just a nightmare."

The two entered the gift shop of the Shack. Mabel led him through a door labeled 'Employees Only' and through the dirty halls of the home part of the Shack. They ended up in the very corners of it, where only the stupidest of cockroaches dared go.

A thick cloud of smoke hung in the air. Mabel took a shaky breath, the horrible smog leaving a burning sensation in her lungs. Stan started smoking the previous year, and, like most smokers, was hooked. He made an agreement to only smoke in his office, which he then spent most of his time in.

Mabel preferred the business meetings out in the dining room. She felt unsafe in back in the very bowels of the Shack. She was still learning the many secrets of the old building, and she never really wanted to do it back there. Even without the smoke, the back of the cabin was covered in spiderwebs and had all sorts of dust.

Jack coughed in agreement with Mabel. "Ugh, this is gross. Worse then girls."

Mabel brushed a cobweb off of the sleeve of her sweater. "Tell me about it," she mumbled sarcastically. "Makes the boys bathroom look like a sanctuary."

"How do you know what the boys bathroom looks like?"

Mabel flushed slightly, kicking open the door. "Long story."

She took a seat in a worn out bean-bag chair from the seventies. Stan hated to throw things away. A thick cloud of dirt and dust flew into the air when Mabel sat onto the bean-bag chair it was coming up on fifty years old, after all.

"Eww," Jack groaned, floating next to Mabel.

She nodded in agreement.

In front of her sat her great-uncle. He looked almost the same as he had four years ago when Mabel first met him. The only difference was under his fez he was bald, and he really did need an eyepatch after an incident with a 'seeing-eye bear.'

During meetings, Stan went by his 'stage name,' Mr. Mystery, and, family or not, everyone had to call him so during the meeting. He was in charge, with a gavel and everything, sitting on his old squeaky chair like a judge on his throne.

After a few agonizing minutes in the thick layer of smoke (Mabel was almost sure she had lung cancer), Dipper entered the room, fashionably late as usual. It was almost as if he enjoyed seeing Mabel suffer in the smoke.

Jack scowled at Dipper. "Stupid hat," he mumbled under his breath.

Stan hit the gavel on his desk, sending a deep boom through the room. He glanced around and cleared his throat before announcing, "I now call this meeting to order. Mabel, roll call, if you please."

"Jack Frost," she murmured softly.

"HERE!" Jack screamed.

She rolled her eyes. "Mabel Pines- here. Dipper Pines?"

"Present." Dipper grumbled.

"Stanford Pines- err, Mr. Mystery?"

"In the flesh."

"All are present and accounted for. Please proceed, Mr. Mystery." Mabel sat back down in her chair, sending up a second cloud of dirt. She sneezed.

A light mumble of 'bless you' went around the room. Mabel winced. She always got that, being the only girl in the Shack. Sometimes she needed someone other then Candy and Grenada.

Stan looked down at the table, prepping another cigarette. Jack grimaced, recoiling from the fire of the match. Mabel had a small itch that wanted to comfort him, but she forced herself to stay put. She didn't want to seem crazy, well, crazier then already, in front of her uncle.

"I have called this meeting to check progress. Mabel, how are those Mystery Shack shirts, hats, jackets, and badges going?" Stan asked.

Mabel took inventory in her head. "I have the badges, shirts, and hats done. I need more zippers for the jackets."

"Make 'em hoodies." Stan ordered. "Dipper, how is the advertising for the Shack doing?"

"I posted flyers all over the Tent of Telepathy." Dipper let out a light chuckle. "Get this, the little twerp went missing a few days back. No trace of him. We also are the proud owners of a billboard in the middle of town, and I spray-painted some stuff on the water tower and some abandoned buildings around town."

Mabel sighed. She didn't like it when Dipper vandalized things. He always covered his tracks, but she worried for him. It wasn't good to be doing crimes at a young age. At least he was better then Robbie.

Heh, heh... muffin...

"Awesome," the elderly man said. Mabel didn't know if he was talking about the advertising or the fact Gideon went missing. "And, there's one thing I have to say. Sales are going down in the Shack. We're barely paying bills now, and I'm renting from the bank now. They're threatening to file bankruptcy on us if we don't catch up on bills."

"Where would we go?" Mabel whispered.

"Florida." Stan replied. "My cousin Patty lives up there, she'll give us a place to crash."

"F-F-Florida?" Mabel repeated, horror in her voice. She glanced sadly at Jack. "It never snows in Florida."

"They get hurricanes, same deal. Natural disaster, right?" Stan acknowledged.

"I am not a natural disaster!" Jack shouted.

"Plus, we'll be able to see Soos again," Dipper pointed out. "And Florida attracts a lot of tourists, so the Shack might work out better there then here!"

Mabel shook her head. "No, no, we can make this work. I like Gravity Falls, remember the magic in the forest, Dip?"

Dipper avoided her gaze. "That's childish, Mabel."

"We can try our best to stay in Oregon," Stan declared, "but I can't assure we can stay. We have a three hundred thousand dollar debt to pay by April. If we can't do it, we're out and moving to Florida."

Mabel stood up suddenly, the eyes of thred boys watching her. "Jack Frost doesn't visit Florida," she deadpanned before leaving the room.

***hands out cookies to reviewers* okay, this was a bit of a filler Chappie. sorry, minor writers block, but the action picks up next chapter. So, yeah!**

**also, sorry about my alter ego. She tends to yell at me a lot.**

**Like, a lot. R&R!**

**~Dakota**


	19. The Incredibly Stupid Dipper Pines

**AHHHHHHHHHHH! I haven't updated in a week! SORRY! *puppy face* pwease downt huwt me. I was on my first overnight fieldtrip with no electronics allowed, then I turned around and went to my dads house. And I feel bad enough cause Sophiedog162 is yelling at me for leaving her… NOW is the time to fume because of how stupid dippy is *cough cough nonbeliever cough*. I don't own RotG and/or GF.**

* * *

Dipper watched as his twin stormed out of the office. She seemed to hold the door open a second longer then needed. She briefly glanced at Dipper. Her amber brown eyes spat daggers at the boy. He was silent, breathing in the secondhand smoke.

Stan let out a long sigh. "Well, kid, you better get going. Your parents would kill me if you got lung cancer." He paused and chuckled. "Kill me from beyond the grave. _Spooky_."

Dipper was emotionless. He stood up and let the room, the awful smell of smoke engulfing his clothes. He went to his room to quickly change, the only object remaining from his old outfit his signature white and blue cap, with a single blue pine tree on the front. He laced up his sneakers and snuck out onto the front porch.

He didn't understand it. Mabel was an odd girl. She loved sparkles, she loved to knit, she had a quirky sense of humor, she had a pet pig, and she even always managed to see the glass half full when there was nothing in it, yet she never had imaginary friends. When they were five and first moved to Piedmont, California, she walked up to the first girl she saw and instantly became friends. Dipper, on the other hand, would trail his sister like a lost puppy until the third month, when a boy finally approached him and became his friend.

During those long, long, long, long, long three months, Dipper made up invisible people to play with. Mabel always went along with it. Being his twin, she seemed to understand Dipper more then Dipper himself at times, and always knew what the imaginary friends would say or do before Dipper could make them do it. She was odd like that.

The younger twin shook himself out of his trance. He was outside, on the porch. Mabel was on the edges of the forest. His instinct took over. He wanted to yell at her to get away from the forest, filled with black magic. He shook his head. Magic was childish. But Mabel should still back away from the forest.

Before he could call out to her, Mabel laughed, ice skates swinging over her shoulder. "Ha, good one, Jack! Those Florida people would be so confused if there was a random blizzard! They'd be all, _'ah, my pool is all frozen!_' Come on, let's go."

Jack. Dipper snapped his jaw shut and walked into the house. Mabel was insane! There was no such thing as myths and legends. He exited the Shack. Myths and legends were just... myths and legends, stories.

The boogeyman was made to keep kids under control. The tooth fairy was made to give kids free cash. The sandman was made to scare off the threat of the boogeyman. Santa was made up to make children good. The Easter bunny was created to... well, Dipper was stumped on that one. Big bunny... just... yeah...

But Jack Frost? That was too far. Jack Frost was simply the personification of winter, to make kids put on coats. He wasn't some real person! It was insane. He was a line in a song, a thought, a whisper. Nothing real. Nothing real...

To his surprise, he was at Candy's house. She lived in the town of Gravity Falls, on the second story of an apartment. She was one family of three that lived in the small apartment complex. One was the family of Grenada and the other was an old couple whom Dipper had never met.

Maybe Candy will know what to do, he thought, she is one of the smartest girls in Gravity Falls. The reason they made such a good couple, brains. Dipper sighed contently, a warm feeling rushing up his spine at the thought of Candy.

Dipper loved Candy. He told her when they were fourteen, a year after Wendy had left. At one point Dipper had loved Wendy, but the three year age difference seemed to keep them apart. He was forever trapped in the friend zone. He decided to go after another girl, one with interests similar to his.

In other words, Candy. They began dating at thirteen. Mabel had declared repeatedly that Dipper dating her best friend was the grossest thing ever, yet always supported their relationship. It took Dipper a long time to gain the courage to tell her he was in love.

And it took Candy no time to say she felt the same way.

On a rare occasion when Dipper had a dream, it was always of him and Candy. He wanted to grow up and get married with her, to have genius little children and to have Mabel joyfully become their odd aunt. He wanted to grow old and fat with Candy, and solve every mystery of Gravity Falls with her.

After all, Mabel had changed after the crash. She was no longer as positive. Before, she claimed the glass to be full. Now the glass was simply half-full. She had a total of eight sweaters, one for every color of the rainbow, plus pink. They were bland, no designs on them. She seemed almost normal, which scared Dipper. And suddenly she had imaginary friends thanks to Jamie.

Jamie. Jamie Bennett. Dipper did not like the child. His head was always in the clouds, and he was as tall as Dipper at only thirteen. His little sister was too filled with energy, and Jamie had too much curiosity. Mabel had shown them his book, 3, filled with the mysterious secrets of the forest. Jamie and Sophie had declared they would find every one. Mabel vowed to help them. Dipper was forced to follow to keep them safe.

On more then one occasion, Dipper saved Jamie, Mabel, and Sophie. They always insisted on going back. It was Jamie, head of the debate team, who would convince the girls to return to the forest. And the cycle repeated. Book, chase, save, talk. Book, chase, save, talk.

His knuckle came in contact with the wooden door. The voices of Candy's family rang out, saying it was Dipper. Candy's footsteps were heard pounding on the ground, and the door suddenly flew open. Dipper jumped back to avoid enjoying a mouthful of door.

"Dipper!" Candy cried, planting a kiss on his cheek. She had to stand in her toes and Dipper had to lean, but it was good. "It's been a while!"

A small tuft of black hair appeared in the doorway. Candy's younger brother, only two, was there, watching Dipper. He had the same jade eyes as his sister. Kyle was an odd boy. He never spoke. Candy said he was mute, although Dipper sometimes heard Kyle speak to himself. Like Mabel had started doing.

"Hey, Sweetie **(A/N: Nickname for Candy, get it? Like, candy is sweet, sweetie… yeah…)**," Dipper greeted Candy. He looked at Kyle. "Afternoon, Kyle."

Kyle blinked.

"He's mute, Dipper." Candy said.

"I'm going to borrow your big sister for a bit. Is that cool, little dude?"

Kyle showed no emotion.

"I say we take that as a yes. Bye, Kyle."

The door slammed. They exited the building.

Dipper sat with Candy at the park. Small talk was exchanged, explaining some events of the past few days. Dipper did more of the talking then Candy. Candy was normally a quiet girl, unless it came to her friends, and Dipper had evolved, learning to talk more.

"So, Candy," he said slowly, "Mabel has been acting... different."

"Yes, she is definitely been acting 'different.'" Candy giggled, almost as if there were some big secret Dipper hadn't been let in on.

He shrugged it off. "She's been having more and more nightmares. I worry sometimes, you know, because I'm her brother. And she was dealing with the nightmares pretty well until the other night. She stormed out of the Shack and appeared on the doorstep later with a big bump on her head. Then suddenly she was always gone and talking to some guy that doesn't even exist. Like she has some sort of imaginary friend... Jacob Prost or something."

Candy tapped her chin. "Perhaps she suffered brain damage from her fall."

"Maybe," Dipper mumbled doubtfully. "But the weird thing is now she's reverting back to 2012 Mabel with the imaginary boy and nightmares. I just can't comprehend it, Sweetie."

"It is quite a conundrum you have going on, Dipper." Candy agreed. "But on the bright side, Mabel has made a new friend!"

"He's not like Jamie, is he? With his mind full of this made up people, like that Jeremy Loust or whatever his face is?"

Candy shook her head. "No, but he is a scientific wonder to me! He is an albino, with bright blue eyes, and seems to be unaffected by the cold! I have never met an albino before him. His name was more common... Jack, I believe."

Dipper sputtered. That was the name! Jack! Jack... Jack... Jack... FROST! Jack Frost! Was it possible this 'Jack' was a real person? No, it was just that everyone he knew was going insane! Jamie and Mabel and Candy were all going bonkers! Coo-coo! Loco crazy!

And he would not be a part of such madness.

"No!" He shouted, jumping to his feet. "No!"

Dipper stormed off. Candy didn't try to stop him. Dipper sometimes had rages. None were good, but Candy learned to ignore them. She would let him cool off for a while, then she would go after him. She watched doubtfully.

Why wouldn't Dipper just... believe?

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"Sure as a... something that is sure!"

"That doesn't sound very sure at all."

"Trust me, May, the ice is perfectly safe! I'm the winter spirit, I should know."

May was quiet, staring at Lake Gravity Falls. Her feet shook as she tried to stay balanced on her skates. Jack stood in the center of the lake, Scuttlebutt Island behind him. He skated around on his bare feet, showing Mabel how easy it was.

She wasn't sure. On the way to the lake, Jack had casually mentioned he died, freezing to death in a lake after falling through thin ice to save his sister. May was shocked how nonchalant he sounded. 'Oh, yeah, we're going ice skating! I died ice skating, by the way.' HOW DID THAT FIT INTO A NORMAL CONVERSATION?

Well, he was Jack Frost. Nothing was normal with him. She hesitantly shuffled onto the frozen surface.

Lake Gravity Falls was a very interesting lake. Scuttlebutt Island was in the center of it, although a tad to the right. It was a mysterious, foggy place in the summer, although in the winter, Jack made it beautiful.

The lake was surrounded by rocky white cliffs with all sorts of nature on the tops of them. On one side it was cut open, where the beach and lake house was. If you followed the dirt path just east of the lake house, it led to the town center. If you followed the path to the north, you went to the Shack. To the west, the Tent of Telepathy.

A strong gust of wind slapped May's back. She yelped as it pushed her along the lake edge, slowly inching her toward the thinner center with Jack.

"Stupid Jack, controlling the wind," she shouted, making sure Jack could hear.

"You're not very nice," he teased. "Now come on, you have to push yourself, too. I'm not gonna do all the work."

May took a shaky breath and pushed her right foot back. Jack scowled, the wind flipping her hair in front of her face. "MY EYES!"

"Push out, not back. OUT!" He shouted at her.

"_I'm blind_!" Mabel screamed.

Jack groaned. The wind kindly pushed her bangs back. May laughed, pushing her left foot out. Jack cheered.

"I can see! How do I turn?" She really loved to shout.

"Lean! Adjust your feet! No, keep pushing out... LEAN!"

"You're a really mean teacher."

Jack rolled his eyes. Mabel disappeared around Scuttlebutt Island. She was making god speed and was quite proud of herself. It was her first time ice skating after all. It was amazing.

The wind brushed back her hair, running its wispy fingers through it playfully. Little lines were left behind her, showing where she once was. Cold caressed her skin gently, but it was a sweet kind of cold. A nip by Jack Frost, she thought with a large smile.

The shadows from Scuttlebutt seemed to grow longer. Odd. The sun didn't move that quickly. Shadows didn't grow that big that quickly, unless the supernatural was behind it. Mabel had known plenty of paranormal thingamajigs, but she could not think of one off hand that made shadows grow.

Grow. Perhaps the size-altering crystals? No, they worked only on objects. Shadows were just blockage of the sunlight. In a way, illusions of the mind. Other than at, her mind drew a blank about what could make the shadows grow.

The winds turned against her, forcing her to stop. Not even her pushing her feet out as fast as fast as she could would move her, practically running in place. Sandy fingers began to crawl out of the long shadows like zombies. They were snakes, slithering toward the girl, helplessly stranded in the middle of the lake.

She gasped. They were snakes. Black, grainy snakes. Night Mares in a different form, she pieced together. And she was stranded.

"J-Jack?" She whispered. The snakes continued forward. "Jack. Jack!" One of the snakes pounded its head into the ice, sending a hairline fracture to splinter through it. The ice cracked under her feet. "JACK!"

More banging. "JACK FROST! _JACK_!"

Even more cries were heard. Jack's ears perked up. May must have tripped, he thought calmly, hovering a few inches above the ice and flying around the corner, where he was able to see Mabel in the center of the lake.

Snakes bashed themselves roughly against the ice. Some changed into their horse form, rearing up and smashing into the ice. Cracks were spider webbed around her feet, slowly getting thinner as waves of nightmare sand went over it, slowly melting it. Her light weight began to take effect, causing the cracks to grow.

One of the horses ears perked up at the shift of the wind. Jack Frost. It whinnied. The Night Mares retreated into the long shadows. May loosened a bit. Maybe the ice would stay intact? She shifted her weight.

Oh, dear May, what a mistake.

Just as the winter spirit rounded the island, the ice gave out. Water sloshed around, a liquid flower blooming around May as she dropped into the frigid waters of the frozen lake. Her scream echoed off the snowy white cliffs. An eerie silence filled the air as she disappeared beneath the surface, the hole in the ice the only clue she was once there.

The eyes of dozens of nightmares watching them, and the cold laugh of the Boogeyman echoing through the wind.

**If ya think this is bad, youll hate me for the ending of the fanfic. *wink***

**DAKOTA, OUT! *puff of smoke, then gone***


	20. Cold

Cold. Cold. Cold.

That was the only thing that May could think of. She was cold. It was a terrifying kind of cold, the kind that killed, not the sweet kind, like Jack. The freezing fire rushed over her skin, teasing her as her sweater dragged her down.

She opened her eyes. It was a deep, dark blue, surrounding her in a veil of darkness. She was horrified, scared. It was like the Boogeyman could sneak out of the darkness at any given moment and attack her again.

Tiny diamond orbs floated in front of her face. They were so bright against the blackness of the water around her. If May could have gasped, she would have. That was her precious oxygen, her air, floating in streams away from her mouth. She pursed her lips. The bubbles stopped, her air was locked in.

Her sweater was clogged with water. It was at least ten pounds added weight to her, which was the disadvantage to having wool sweaters. It dragged her under like she was attached to a cinder block. The light from above her was glowing dimmer and dimmer, getting farther and farther away as she sank.

Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold.

Her lungs began to burn. Her hair was becoming stale with carbon dioxide as the oxygen wasted away. May wanted to cough, to breathe, but she couldn't. Water. The water was unbreathable for a person.

She squirmed, legs pushing her toward the surface. Her sweater was too heavy, getting heavier as it had more time to absorb the water. Fifteen pounds, twenty pounds, her arms flailed as she tried to break to the air.

Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold.

No, she didn't want to die. Dipper had lost his parents, he didn't need to lose his sister too. Jamie was too sweet to have a his friend die. Sophie was much too innocent for May to pass away like that. Jack had died like that, and May was not going to leave him with the guilt of "I couldn't save her," like she was left with when her parents moved on.

A new thought was mixed in with the thought of cold- live.

More struggling. It seemed to have a quicksand effect, only forcing her down more quickly. She kicked, one of her shoes falling off. Mabel shed her sweater, watching as it sank at double the speed it did with May in it. Her under shirt was getting heavy as well, and it was at least four times smaller then her wool sweater.

Cold. Live. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold.

Her muscles ached. The cold was starting to freeze her. Frostbite, the very beginning of it. The water was slowly becoming less cold. Hyperthermia. Her mouth popped open like a bubble, letting the unusable air out if her lungs.

She was sinking. She couldn't move. It was too painful to move anymore. May's muscles were as brittle as eggshells. But she couldn't give up! She had people that needed her!

Her brain began to release endorphins. A wave of calm washed over her. She almost laughed. A wave underwater... It was funny. And people could live without her. She wasn't air, she wasn't food or water. People eventually get over deaths, right?

Her eyes sank to their closed positions. Calmness engulfed her as she began to think about her life. It was a good life, great in fact. Death would be okay. Death would be painless. She would rather drown then have to die slowly and painfully or be tortured.

Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold. Cold...

Something wrapped around her waist just as the world faded into blackness.

* * *

"No, no, no, no, no!" Pitch shouted, fear glowing from him.

His Night Mares cowered around him, sinking into the shadows. Pitch was horrifying when he was angry.

Gideon plopped into Pitch's lair after a wonderful night of bringing fear to the children of the world. Pitch had spent a long time lecturing him about using his powers, so Gideon went out for a few hours every night to bring nightmares to children while the Boogeyman planned their attack on the Guardians.

The pudgy Night Mare strutted into the room, pushing past the horses. He barely even noticed that they were all scared stiff. Gideon simply thought he had done such an awesome job that even the Night Mares were afraid of him.

Pitch continued his rant. "You weren't supposed to kill her, you were supposed to kill him!" He was pacing the floor. "Now Mabel is dead, and I can't feed off of her fear!"

Gideon gasped loudly. He tripped to the front of the evil horses, not caring if they were accidentally destroyed in the process. All he heard was his sweet marshmallow was dead, gone, out of existence.

"PITCH!" He shouted in anger. "You killed my peach dumpling?"

The Nightmare King looked just as troubled as Gideon. "Not I. These stupid horses did, when I told them to kill the Frost boy. Without him, the Guardians would lose hope and be uninformed about the condition of Mabel."

"AND YOU KILLED HER?"

"NO!"

"YES YOU DID!"

"NO I DIDN'T!"

"YES YOU DID!"

Pitch stormed over to his globe. Out of all the lights on it, which represented believers, the town in the US with the fewest believers was Gravity Falls. Even with all the children, only three lights were there. Usually. Candy, Grenada, and Mabel.

Only two in the sleepy town were lit up.

He ground his teeth, running his tongue over where the Tooth Fairy knocked out his tooth. Why were Night Mares so incredibly stupid? Could they do nothing right?

"YOU KILLED HER!" Gideon screamed again.

Pitch was about to reply, when his eyes were lit up by a third light in Gravity Falls.

* * *

Jack pulled himself and Mabel out from the freezing waters. The girl had lost even more of the color in her pale skin, if it was even possible. Mostly in her cheeks, which always had a slight pinkish hue to them, had paled to almost sheet white.

May had intelligently gotten rid of her sweater, but was left in a short-sleeved shirt. She had stopped shivering. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? She was unconscious. He knew one thing- that was bad. Very bad.

He put two fingers on her wrist. No movement, no pulse. He checked for breathing. Her chest was still.

Dead.

"No! May, wake up!"

She didn't move. Completely silent, still, like the winter wonderland Jack was so familiar with. He shook her shoulders, begging her to wake up. She remained as lifeless as a doll, not moving.

Jack put his two hands on top of each other and began pushing down on her chest. Her limbs moved limply at every compression. She didn't twitch or gasp. Her limbs simply flailed.

"Come _ON_!" He screamed. "Wake up! Please don't die. Please don't die."

Tears began to fall down his cold face, landing lightly on the dead girl before him. They shone in the fading lit of the day.

It was as if his words were magic, or perhaps his actions. Her eye twitched. Slowly, her pulse started back up as she took breaths through her nose.

"May?"

Mabel bolted upwards, knocking heads with Jack. Jack was too happy and a bit shocked to cry out in pain. She was alive. How? Nope, she was alive- that was all that mattered!

"MAY!"

She turned a hue of green and leaned over. The water she had inhaled poured out of her mouth, sprawling all over the ice. May gasped between vomiting, letting the sweet feeling of air inflate her lungs.

"I am torn between being the happiest guy on the planet and being disgusted."

She wiped her mouth. "C-c-co-old," she mumbled, teeth chattering.

Jack picked her up bridal style. "Don't worry, May, I'll take you to the Guardians."

"Ho-h-home." She whispered. "Change... b-brush t-t-te- teeth, get r-r-ra-rain painting. Say b-bye to D-D-Dipper."

**Aw, at least SHE cares *cough screw dipper cough***

**R&R**

**~Dakota**


	21. Toothbrush Race

"D-D-D-DIPPER!"

Dipper was at the door in seconds. Mabel was outside, her arms bare and cut, soaking wet. Her teeth were chattering like crazy, and she was as pale as a ghost. The boy instantly took charge, pulling his sister into the Shack and slamming the door shut.

Jack was stranded outside, annoyance etched on his features. "Thanks a lot, you stupid hat kid," he mumbled distastefully, zipping to the neared window to watch the twins.

The younger of the Pines dragged May into the kitchen, where he forced her to sit while he fetched her a towel. May forced herself to her feet and to the window, which she used all of her strength to pry open. Jack flew in.

"You didn't have to do that, May."

May shrugged wordlessly, shivering. Jack flew her to the chair Dipper had ditched her in, mere seconds before said boy reentered the room with a towel. He draped it over Mabel, who curled into its warmth.

Dipper went over to the stove, where he put on a kettle and started to boil some water for his twin. He demanded a story of why Mabel was soaked to the bone without anything to keep her warm in the outside world in weather like that.

And May gave him the story. Being the (idiotic) nonbeliever he was, Dipper scoffed. He ground his teeth and mumble it to be nothing but imagination, hallucinations from the freezing cold.

"You don't believe me," she whispered when Dipper gave no response to her story.

Dipper shrugged.

"We spent our entire twelve-year-old year looking for these amazing, magical things, and I come to you with the truth about this, and you don't believe me."

"You got into the Smile Dip again," Dipped said bluntly, "that's all that happened. You'll go mad for just a tiny bit of that stuff."

"Why don't you believe me?"

Dipper stiffened. "It's childish."

"I'm not childish!" Jack shouted. "Wait..."

"That's not good enough!" May cried, standing up. "Childish is dressing up in frilly pink sparkly princess dresses! Childish is doing incredibly stupid things for fun! Childish is crashing toy race cars into the wall! Falling through thin ice, with your life in peril every minute, that is not childish! Having a single person to protect you is not childish! Being terrified every minute of every day, hoping that you won't be plagued with nightmares and that you won't get hurt and that you brother will believe you for once in your darn life... is not childish."

Her voice came out as a whisper on the final part. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

Dipper glared at his sister, eyes dark. "Mabel Kelly Pines," he growled, "I wish you weren't my sister."

That hurt. Saying that they weren't twins was painful, like a splinter, but they would still be brother and sister. But those words were blades, shredding their relationship into pieces. Even if they could make up then and there, nothing would ever be the same between them again. It would be like trying to put together a puzzle missing a piece.

"The worst things in life come free to us," May whispered, "words, love, hate, death- and you, Dipper. You are no better then the Boogeyman himself."

She ran up to her room.

* * *

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

"I let you fall through the ice."

"You saved me."

"I didn't do anything to stop you and Hat Kid from fighting."

"We fight a lot."

"Not like that."

May was quiet.

"You agree."

"No."

"Yes."

"...Yeah, I do. But there was no stopping it."

May shoved a sweater into her small bag. Jack had declared he was taking her to the North Pole. Mabel was packing an extra outfit, her pajamas, her dream/nightmare journal, some yarn and needles, her letters from Jamie, the rain painting, and her scrapbook. Her excuse was simple enough- she was going camping with Grenada (who went camping often) and wouldn't be back for at least a day or two.

She wrote out her note to her great uncle as Jack continued to talk. He had managed to make his way to the subject about what an idiot he was for letting her leave his sight on the ice. May let him rant, knowing from experience with her brother that he would feel better after a nice long time frame of yelling at himself and others.

May wrapped her fingers around the scrapbook, the final item in her bag. It was light enough, no heavier then an elementary schoolers backpack. She sighed contently, drifting into the bathroom and grabbing her toothbrush. Unknowing to her, Jack had followed.

"Whatcha doing?"

In surprise, May squeezed the toothpaste bottles and half of the glittery toothpaste once in the bottle was splattered across the counter, mirror, and Jack's face. The minty substance dripped off of her toothbrush. She momentarily looked upset.

"I- uh, I didn't mean to. Sorry," she stuttered out quickly.

Jack crossed his eyes, narrowing them and concentrating on the smudge of toothpaste on his nose. He stuck out his tongue and made it crawl up to his pale nose, where he licked it off. Obnoxiously, he smacked his lips together, sending his saliva onto the already filthy mirror.

His face scrunched up in distaste. "What is this stuff?"

"Toothpaste," May responded slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Minty bubblegum flavored."

"Minty gross flavor," he murmured. "What do you do with it?"

"Put it on a toothbrush and brush your teeth."

"Why?"

"To keep them clean."

"Oh, so this is the junk Tooth is always gushing about."

Mabel gasped loudly. "Oh my gosh, Jack, wanna have a toothbrush race?"

"A who what now?"

She was bouncing around, a wide grin on her face. "When we were twelve, Dipper and I used to have toothbrush races all the time. We would just brush our teeth as quickly as we could for the required two minutes and see who had the most spit at the end!"

Jack laughed as Mabel tried to clean the toothpaste off the mirror. "Uh, as fun as spitting sounds, I'll have to pass."

May shoved the toothbrush in her mouth. "Boo," she mumbled, little bits of spit splattering from her mouth. "Suit yourself."

_About five seconds later..._

"THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG!"

May spat in the sink, clearing her mouth. "Dude, it's been like, ten seconds." She p the toothbrush back in her mouth.

"Ugh..."

Jack perched himself on top of his staff, nervously waiting like a hawk for May to finish.

_Two seconds later..._

"I'M GONNA DIE!"

"Nwo, yowr not."

"This is stupid! And boring!"

"Trwy tewin dat to Tooft."

"Tooth... come on, May, what if Pitch attacks again?"

"Wather have Pitch attack then face the wrath of the Tooft Fawiry."

"...eh, you got me there." He grinned mischievously. "But I'm not waiting any longer."

"Wha...?"

Jack wrapped his arms around May's waist, making her yelp. She was lifted off the ground, drool dripping out of her mouth, as he flew her to her room. He grabbed her bag with the crook of his staff, and out the window they went to see the Guardians of Childhood.

**Yay, yay, yay! So excited, wee!**

**~Dakota**


	22. Pikachu in Canada

"I can't believe you did that!"

Jack snickered, hovering a few hundred feet above the Arctic Ocean, while Mabel screamed at him. She had unhooked her bag from his staff and had it swung over her shoulder, although she was fretting about the safety of her items.

"You realize what you did, right?"

"No, explain," Jack said innocently.

May scowled. "You didn't even give me a chance to finish brushing my teeth! Tooth is going to kill me!"

"She's too sweet to do that."

Involuntarily, May flushed. Her slight crush on Jack made it hard for her to listen to him talk of Tooth so highly. It was awkward. But the cold hid her blush, while Jack continued to laugh.

"I hate you, you know that, right?"

"GAH!" Jack shouted, rolling his eyes into the back of his head. "No, my heart!"

He called off the wind, making him and Mabel free fall out of the sky. She screeched loudly, whimpering as Jack let go and shoved her away, crossing his arms and looking smug. May scrambled to keep her bag closed and skirt down, as Jack calmly did flips, twists, and dips.

"I can't fly," she screamed, flailing in the air.

"Say you like me!" Jack taunted, flipping himself around. "Say it!"

"I can't fly, Jack, I'm gonna die!" May was actually freaking out, on the verge of hyperventilating. "Jack!"

"Say it, say it, say it!"

"Okay, okay," she shouted, watching as the water grew too close for comfort. "I like you, I like you- I LOVE YOU!"

Her arm was almost ripped out of her socket, but she stopped falling. If she pointed her toes, she would have been able to touch the water. The cool sea breeze played with her hair. May was panting like a dog, heart pounding like horse hooves at the Kentucky Derby.

Above her, floating on his stomach, was a very pleased looking Jack Frost, swinging her back and forth like a rag doll. His crystal eyes glinted gleefully as he chuckled at her ever-changing expressions.

"You dropped me," she gasped.

"You hurt my feelings," he retorted.

"But you DROPPED me!"

"You HURT me!"

"You could have killed me! I'm not immortal."

May wished she could take the words back as soon as she said them. Jack's eyes shattered like glass, smirk flickering. She knew that she would have to grow up someday and get married, have kids and grow old, then die. And Jack would live on forever, watching people die as he remained a teenager forever.

And ever. And ever. And ever.

She gave a small smile, trying to brighten Jack's mood, which he was trying to hide with a counterfeit grin.

"It's cold," she said. "And I can't believe you made me drop my toothbrush somewhere over Canada!"

_Somewhere on Canada..._

Lester scanned the TelePrompTer atop the camera, reading the words quickly and fluently. His bald head glinted under the spotlights of the newsroom.

"And for our next report- breaking news, a girl gets hit in the head with a... toothbrush? We have Nina live on the scene? What? Is this some kind of sick-"

The screen faded briefly to black, and a red headed woman appeared. She was puckering her lips at the camera.

"Wait... what? We're on? Uh, hi, I'm Nina Zuckerman, and this Toronto News at 6. Today, were covering the odd story of Courtney Sherman, who was hit in the head with a toothbrush earlier today. We go live to her now."

The camera panned in on a beach blonde girl. She looked no older then thirteen, with murky grayish blue eyes that were enlarged slightly by her glasses. Her pale skin was clear of any blemishes. Her white teeth were lined with silver braces. She was grinning, although panic was obvious on her face.

"Courtney, can you tell us what happened?" Nina asked, shoving the microphone in Courtney's face.

The girl grinned. She snatched the microphone from Nina's hand, and began jumping up and down, her grin expanding. "Well, I was just standing around, looking over my Pokemon cards, when BAM! Something whacks me right in the head. And I go, OW! What the heck was that? So I look on the ground and there's this sparkly pink toothbrush! And get this, it's still wet from spit!"

Nina tried to take back her microphone, but Courtney held it out of her reach, which was hard for a thirteen year old to do to an adult.

"And," Courtney continued loudly, "I know who's toothbrush it is! Pikachu! PIKACHU! I knew you were real, Pikachu! Pika, pika! Come to me, o mighty Pika King!"

Courtney ran up to the camera, shoving her face on it, so her lips were smushed against the lens, as if she were making out with it. The distant calls of Nina yelling to turn off the camera could be heard.

"I know you're there, Pikachu," Courtney hissed, "Pikach-"

The screen turned to static.

_Back to them..._

"Yeah, right!" Jack chuckled. "I bet you dropped it in the ocean or something!"

"Speaking of the ocean, I'm kind of cold. And scared out of my mind. Could we just go to the, uh, Pole? Wow, I'm excited! I've never gotten to say that! I'm still mad about my toothbrush though. And if you weren't holding me above a freezing choppy ocean, I would hurt you." May said coolly.

Jack grinned widely. "And I believe you said you loved me earlier?"

"Err..." Mabel began, blushing red as a rose. "Shut up."

"Unlikely," he said in a singsong voice, flying up into the clouds.

* * *

"Put me down- PUT ME DOWN!"

"Nope!"

"WE'RE NOT EVEN OUSIDE ANYMORE!"

"Too bad!"

Jack zoomed around with May latched around his neck, screaming in terror and kicking, begging loudly to be put down. The winter spirit would simply laugh off her complaints and fly faster. The room was nothing more then a blur of colors.

May's head whirled with the room. She had no idea where she was, but she knew she was going fast and wasn't outside. And she knew she was going to be sick if the ride didn't stop soon. Around and around and around and around...

"I'M GONNA HURL!"

"Eww!"

And for the second time that day, May was dropped out of the sky.

She screamed and flailed. Jack was above, not even attempting to go after her, grinning slyly. If Mabel wasn't so terrified, she would have scowled. And maybe slapped him. She almost smiled at the thought, but she was too busy screaming.

"Oh, Bunny," the crazy winter spirit called calmly.

Bunny? BUNNY?! Mabel was falling and Jack was calling for a bunny? A tiny little woodland creature? Yeah, okay, and people call May crazy (insane).

Before the hard ground could hit her, she landed on something soft and fluffy. A sigh of relief escaped her lips. Maybe Jack wasn't too mental after all. But she was still upset with him.

"JACK FROST!" She screamed, squirming in the soft hold of whatever she was in (the world was still spinning). "Get you frozen butt down here so I can knock some sense into your slush filled HEAD!"

"So ya got a problem with Frosty, too, sheila?"

May yelped. "Ah!"

She shook her head, clearing her vision. Looking down at her were two big green eyes attached to a face covered in silver and white fur, a light pink nose on it. She let out a small gasp, mind whirling.

"Wow..."

"Ha," Jack said, landing next her. "That's what I said."

"You have got to be kidding me..."

"I said that, too!"

**Typical Jack. R&R!**


	23. Meeting the Guardians

**Long chapter, but she meets all the guardians. YAY!**

"You're the Easter Bunny!" Mabel screamed. "Like, the real, honest Easter Bunny! Jack, this is the Easter Bunny!"

"Yeah, trust me, the thrill wears off." Jack groaned.

"Like it did with you?" She shot back.

"Ha!" Bunny laughed. "She's quick!"

"As a bunny!" She giggled. "Uh, you can put me down now."

Under his fur, Bunny blushed. Mabel was set on the ground, finally being able to get a full view of the Easter Bunny himself. He had gleaming silver fur all over his body, except for his white stomach, bits of white on his face, and white paws. He had a cute little pink nose and shiny whiskers.

On his arms were cuffs made of bronze, with multicolored gems decorating them. A leather strap went over his chest, holding beautiful Easter egg bombs and two boomerangs on his back. He was at least six feet tall, at least a foot taller than May.

And yet she couldn't help but ogle over, err, under him.

"Oh my gosh! You are so adorable!"

"What?"

"Look at your cute little bunny nose and bunny ears! Do you have a fluffy little tail, too? Isn't he adorable, Jack? Wait- I'm mad at you. I can make my own decisions, and you are adorable!" She cooed.

"Uh... adorable?" Bunny sounded a mixture of confused and angry at the same time.

Jack was howling with laughter, only remaining upright because of the wind helping him out. May was still drooling over the oversized rabbit, bouncing around him to get a better view. Bunny was stiff, emerald green eyes following the excited girl blankly; although anger was boiling under the surface.

Finally, the pooka couldn't take it any longer. He grabbed Mabel by the collar of her turquoise sweater with the rainbow background and black music note. She was dangling a foot off of the ground, and her face had gone blank.

His green eyes were narrowed in distaste at the girl. Her face remained blank, and Jack had stopped laughing. For a Guardian, Bunny could be cruel at times.

"I am not adorable." He growled.

"Bunny..." Jack warned.

May grinned. "You remind me of Dipper. I like you."

And for once, Bunny was speechless. May swung her legs, giggling as she moved back and forth. Jack was back to laughing.

"This is a fun game. My name's Mabel."

"Mabel?" The rabbit questioned. "Mabel Pines? You're the sheila the show-pony was talkin' 'bout, right? The 'un bein' attacked by the Boogeyman?"

"In the flesh! Hey, what's your name?"

"You're awful optimistic, girlly. I'm E. Aster Bunnymund, but you can call me Bunny."

"Okie-dokie, then! Can I meet the other...?" Mabel trembled with excitement, "Guardians? Please?"

"I'll take you!" Jack offered.

"No way! You dropped me twice! In, like, an hour!" May glanced knowingly at Bunny. "He is so annoying."

"Tell me about it," Bunny groaned.

Jack pouted, floating after the two. Bunny reluctantly set Mabel down, after she swore on the Moon that she wouldn't be so hyper around him anymore (the other Guardians, though...).

For the first time, Mabel got a good view of where she was. And when her brain clicked, she gasped in excitement. She was in the workshop- she was in Santa's workshop! She was forced to keep her cool, though, even as they wandered around the large building.

In the center of the room was a large globe. The continents were choppy, like the art of manipulating metal into curves had not yet been invented, yet it was still beautiful. Lights decorated it, and May was thrilled to see a single golden light at the top of the globe- her. Bunny explained that each light was a believer in the Guardians- all five of them. And even though Jack Frost wasn't as popular as the other, millions of lights still dotted the globe.

The workshop was busy. Large teddy-bear like creatures were running around with armfuls of toys, paint, or pieces. Most of them glared at Jack. Some looked happy with Bunny, who would flash them grins. And every one that passed Mabel would briefly pause, looking in confusion at the peppy girl, then would remember their duty and continue.

"What are those?" May asked curiously.

"Yetis." Bunny replied bluntly.

"They make the toys!" Jack added cheerfully.

"I thought the elves made the toys."

"Ve let them believe that," a new voice replied, unfamiliar to Mabel.

She glanced up. Way up. A man towered over her, making even Bunny look small in comparison. She let out a small whimper and backed away, unknowingly toward Jack. She may have been mad at him, but at least she trusted him.

The man had a thick Russian accent. He had on a red shirt, which were cuffed up to just under his elbows. He bulged with muscle. On his forearms were two green tattoos, one reading 'Naughty' and one reading 'Nice,' each with intricate swirls and designs around them.

He wore black suspenders and big, heavy black boots. On his head was a black hat, fuzzy like a small dog was resting on it. May recognized it as a Russian piece of clothing. He had big blue eyes, which were sparkling as he stared down at Mabel. Two hilts of swords stuck out of their sheaths, which hung nicely on the man's belt.

His most noticeable feature was the long white beard, trailing all the way down to his rounded belly. May gawked in awe. She was terrified yet filled with wonder at the same time, immediately knowing who the man was.

"You're Santa Claus. The real... he's... you're Santa!" she whispered.

"Yeah," the man agreed, "but you may call me North. Nicholas Saint North; and vho might you be?"

"Mabel Pines, sir." She was still in awe.

"Ah, Mabel. Yes, you are on nice list this year," he winked, "as always."

"Wow..."

"But you come because of Pitch, ya?" North asked, a grim tone to his voice. "Vhat did he do?"

May shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Oh, nothing really. I don't really want to talk about it." She looked around. "Can I meet the others? Please? Then I promise I'll talk about it."

Jack grunted. "Why is it that you're so excited to meet everyone except for me?"

"Eh, you're not very excitable, mate." Bunny murmured.

"Uh, _hello_, Guardian of Fun!"

May rolled her brown eyes, thinking about how exasperating boys were. She noticed two little things walking around, which were no taller than her knees. Like gnomes. May recoiled, bumping into North.

"Oh- oops, sorry."

"Vhy are you frightened by them? They are only elves."

"Elves?"

She did a double take. Yes, they did look like gnomes quite a bit, but with no beards. They had pointy noses and wore a single clothing article, which covered from their knees to their heads, and it ended with a point. A tiny jingle bell was tied on to the tip of the point, and in lolled forward carelessly.

Striped tights covered its legs, and pointy shoes decorated its feet. It grinned at Mabel, showing off horrible teeth. She shuddered in distaste. The elf was covered in Christmas lights, the plug trailing behind it, and was holding up a plate of half-eaten cookies.

North took one of the cookies and took a delicate bite out of it for someone so big. He grinned widely, making a sound of pleasure.

"So moist!" He said ignorantly. "Mabel, vould you like one?"

"Uh... no thank you?"

She glanced down at the elf, who was trying to shove a cookie inconspicuously into its mouth. Crumbs ran down its shirt, but it grinned up at Mabel. She almost gagged.

A jingle filled her ears. May whirled around, trying to find the source of the noise. It was like sleigh bells, but softer. She was enchanted by the noise, and wouldn't stop looking until she found the source.

When she did, a gasp of delight left her lips. A small golden man floated in front of her. He wore robes that melted into his skin, only a shade darker than them. He was very monochromatic, but was glittering in the light.

His entire form seemed to be made of sand. He had hair the was blown back out of his face, but was very wild. He wore a warm smile that brought a grin of her own to May's face. He was very short, coming up to about May's mid-thigh, but he looked kind.

"You must be the Sandman," she guessed, getting a nod from Sandy. "I'm Mabel. Can I call you Sandy?"

The Sandman morphed his sand into the shape of a thumbs-up. Mabel gave a small gasp and almost reached out to touch it.

Sandy pulled his sand away and did silent tutts. He made a picture of a girl, the sand, and then the girl falling asleep. May laughed.

"Okay. I don't want to fall asleep right now. But it's nice to meet you."

The Sandman extended his hand. Mabel considered it warily before the Sandman jingled, his way of laughter, and motioned for her to do it. She touched his hand and, to her surprise, didn't fall asleep. She giggled, the sand sending a warm feeling through her.

May did a count. She had net Santa, the Easter Bunny, Jack Frost, and the Sandman. She was missing one. The Tooth Fairy, most likely one of the Guardians she was most excited to meet. She was, after all, the only female Guardian.

"Hey," she piped up, addressing Jack, North, and Bunny.

In the time it had taken her to meet Sandy, the three boys had gotten into an agreement. May couldn't really tell what it was about, but she had a feeling it was about which holiday was better. Jack was on North's side, arguing for Christmas, and Bunny solely putting up a strong debate for Easter.

"Uh, hello?"

The boys either couldn't hear her or ignored her. The arguing was loud, after all.

May grunted and tugged slightly in North's shirt, like an impatient child. The man took his large hand and shooed off Mabel's much smaller hand.

"Just set cookies on table- CHRISTMAS, Bunny, CHRISTMAS!"

"I'm not an elf!" May mumbled, crossing her arms.

She marched over to Bunny and gave a pull on one of his boomerangs, hoping for some sort of attention. She did get some, but not wanted attention.

Bunny turned on her quickly and bared his teeth. "Don't touch my stuff," he growled simply before returning to his argument.

"Come ON!" She almost yelled.

Well, there was still one more Guardian that might actually care. May stormed over to Jack and kicked his staff, on which he had been balancing on. Jack smirked down at her, still floating. She gave a smile and opened her to speak.

"Fiery little girl, aren't ya?" He chuckled before returning to the argument.

She ground her teeth and returned to her spot by the Sandman. They wore matching expressions, each that of annoyance. May was tapping her foot impatiently, glaring at three of the four male Guardians.

"Are they always like this? This arguing is giving me a headache." She noted.

Sandy nodded and rolled his eyes. He had his bottom lip jutting out, glaring at the arguing immortals. The two sat down in unison. May put her face in her hand, watching as they came close to flying fists.

"Ugh..." She mumbled. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

Her final shut up came out as bloody murder. The three Guardians stopped and stared at her. She flushed, biting her bottom lip. Sandy grinned and nudged Mabel, as if to congratulate her for getting their attention.

"I didn't mean to shout. Sorry," she murmured. "You just argue a lot and it was annoying and I haven't met the Tooth Fairy yet and-"

"She is right!" North declared loudly. "Ve do argue a lot."

"But it's fun!" Jack groaned. "I get to pick on Bunny."

"Ya pick on me anyways!" Bunny shouted.

"Cause it's fun!"

"Why you little-"

"Gentlemen!" North boomed. "No arguing!"

With a few more glares the each other, the two stopped. May let out a sigh of relief, giving a smile. She stood and helped up Sandy, then turned back to the Guardians.

"So can I maybe meet the Tooth Fairy if it's not too much trouble?" She asked giddily. "Please?"

Before anyone could respond, a loud yell came from above. May craned her neck, heart skipping a beat from fear. Did a yeti loose an arm or something? She knew Wendy shouldn't have put "chainsaw" on her Christmas list!

The yell grew louder and louder. Suddenly, with extreme force, a blur of colors pushed her against the wall. May let out a scream of her own, afraid Pitch was attacking her.

Her mouth was pried open. A confused gurgle left her mouth as someone began to chat about her teeth like they were diamonds. She grunted, jaw popping and mouth aching.

"TOOTH!" North cried. "Hands out of mouth!"

"But look at her teeth! She still has a baby molar in the top left of her mouth! And they're so white, like Jack's, and straight, too! She must spend hours brushing to get that sort of white."

The only thing from the voice that Mabel could identify was it was female, bubbly, and unfamiliar. Even though reluctantly, the hands left her mouth. May sank to the floor, world spinning. She was confused and had a very dry mouth.

A cold hand on her shoulder made her blink away the spinning world. "May, are you okay?"

She chuckled, "that rhymed."

Jack elbowed her. "You are something different, Mabel Pines."

"Get your grubby elbows off of me! You made me drop my toothbrush over Canada!"

A strangled gasp from the new voice came. "Jack, you made her LOSE her toothbrush? Are you crazy?"

Before May's eyes, Jack was lifted into the air. She gasped as she heard muffled cries from Jack for help. Her anger melted like ice as she worried about the boys' safety.

She rubbed the dizziness from her eyes and looked up. A hummingbird-like woman was fluttering about an inch off of the ground. Jack was in front of her, cowering and backing up as the hummingbird whacked him repeatedly on the nose.

May leapt to her feet and darted across the room to where they were, briefly wishing she could fly. She jumped in front of Jack and held out her arms, closing her eyes. The blow from the hummingbird woman never came.

Hesitantly, she cracked open one eye. In front of her the hummingbird had her hand frozen in midair, centimeters away from May's face. She looked terrified; as if striking Mabel would have grout her eternal pain.

Behind her, May could hear Jack squirm so that he was almost completely hidden behind her, peeking out from behind her slightly. She could almost feel his smile of gratitude.

"He didn't mean to," May whispered, "it was an accident. I was the one that dropped it. Don't hurt him. Please."

The woman began to laugh, hand falling limply to her side. She had her eyes squeezed shut, and May finally had the opportunity to look the attacker over.

If May had to describe her in one word, it would be beautiful. She was covered in head to toe with feathers, ranging from blues to greens to deep pinks. There were no feathers on most of her face and her hands. A large, bright yellow feather stuck out from her crown of feathers that were attached to her head. Behind her, feathers stuck out like a skirt.

She had wings that were like a hummingbirds. They beat at speeds so quickly May got simple glimpses of them. For the most part, they were clear, with pink veins decorating them. When they caught in the light, they would send rainbows across the room.

Her eyelashes were a sweet pink. There were less than on those of a normal person, but they were gorgeous. On the edge of each eyelash was a rounded bit. When her eyes finally opened, they were a shocking pink.

"Hurt... hurt Jack? Hurt you? Sweet tooth, I would never lay a finger on a child, immortal or not!" She laughed.

"I'm not a child!" Jack whined, pouting from his hiding spot from behind Mabel.

"Some Guardian you are," May teased, "hiding behind a girl!"

"I wasn't hiding- you jumped in front of me!" He retorted, floating out from behind her and landing next to her, as if to prove his bravery.

May rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the humming bird woman, who was wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. Suddenly, May gasped in surprise.

"You're the Tooth Fairy!"

The fairy gave a warm smile, showing off perfect teeth, and held out her hand. "Toothiana. But you can call me Tooth for short!"

"You're beautiful, miss." Mabel breathed. "You're so colorful."

"Aw, thanks, sweetie."

"Mabel," May said, wedging her hand into Tooth's. "Can I ask a silly question?"

"No such thing!" Tooth chirped.

"Can I see your teeth?"

Tooth looked startled. "My... my what?"

Jack chuckled. "Déjà vu, there, Toothy?"

"Your teeth!" May expressed, pointing to her mouth. "Believers have the Tooth Fairy to ogle of their teeth, but the Tooth Fairy doesn't have anyone to coo over hers. I'm no tooth expert, but I would at least like to give you the feeling of what it's like to know someone other than you cares about dental hygiene. But you don't have to, if you don't want to."

"I... I..."

Tooth looked frightened, putting her hand over her mouth. May sighed sadly, but forced her smile to remain. She shrugged nonchalantly.

The fairy suddenly fell to her knees and opened her mouth. Mabel squealed and looked over the teeth, trying to harness the excitement that Tooth felt when she examined the teeth of others.

"Look at all of the teeth! They're even whiter then Jack's- I can't en see any plaque! And you look like you floss every night! Wow, Jack, look at her teeth!"

"Boring!" Jack moaned.

The fairy's head popped up. She was wearing a sneer. Her mouth snapped close as quick as a mousetrap, and she was glaring at Jack.

"Teeth are not boring!"

Jack returned quickly to his hiding place behind May. Said girl chuckled, glancing around the room. Bunny and North had returned to their argument (so much for that speech), Sandy had dozed off, and Tooth was glaring at Jack.

The weight of the days events were dumped on Mabel. She almost collapsed on the ground, her knees threatening to buckle. She was saved by Jack, who hooked his arm around her waist. She let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes.

"Tired?" He teased.

She shrugged. "I'm fine. Not..." she yawned again, "tired."

As if the words were magic, Sandy's eyes popped open. He scowled at May and began waving his arms frantically, motioning away from the Guardians, symbols flying above his head at light speed.

Mabel winced and stumbled backwards, trying to shoo off the angry Sandman. The truth was she was very sleep deprived. Even though she had promised that she would sleep well the night Jack went to see the Guardians, she tossed and turned all night, terrified to see what nightmares Pitch may give her. She got perhaps a half hour of sleep.

For two days, that was not good.

She slumped and almost fell over. "Okay, okay, I'll just go home and get some sleep."

North turned suddenly, almost whacking Bunny in the face. "Home? No! You vill stay here! We have room ready for you!"

"Really?" May asked, the excitement minimum in her voice from sleepiness.

"Of course! Yeti will show you the way! Right by Jack's room."

Jack smiled. "If it's just by my room, I'll take her! I'll be faster too, so she'll get more sleep." He glanced at Sandy.

The Sandman clapped, approving the winter spirits idea. Jack kicked Mabel's legs out from under her, and she gratefully fell bridal-style into his arms. They bid the Guardians goodnight and zipped off down the hall.

* * *

"Ooh," Gideon mused, relieved his sugarplum was alive and well. He was watching through a window, and had heard the entire conversation.

"Pitch'll be quite interested in this."

He flew off into the cold winter's night.


	24. Warm

**OMG I AM SO SORRY I HAVE NOT UPDATED IN FOREVER! School got out on the 4th of June (yay!) and my parents are pestering me about what to do on my 13th bday (june 12) and YAAAAAA... I wanna finish this by my bday so expect more frequent updates. READ ON!**

* * *

Jack ground his teeth, watching as the Guardians of Childhood continued to argue. For once, it wasn't about holidays or gifts or things like that, but what to do with Mabel. They talked about her is if she were an object, debating whether to send her back (home), to keep her there, or to force Pitch to pay for breaking her.

Several times, Jack had declared that she was a living person. Each time, they ignored him. The spirit was used to being ignored, of course, but with the people (to an extent) that had given him his first believer, it was a bit painful.

Jack put his head on his staff, banging it repeatedly. He was right there, could they give him a little attention? They could see him after all.

See him...

He flew into the air. "I'm going to check on Mabel real fast."

Tooth gasped. "I need to get to the fairies! They can function on their own, but not as effectively as they can with me." She glared at Jack playfully. "You better get that girl a new toothbrush."

He shrugged, grinning. Tooth scowled and zipped out of the window. Sandy gave some signs to show that he also needed to go, so he could deliver some dreams.

Bunny forced North to go to bed, explaining the old man looked as if he would collapse from exhaustion. He had been working day and night because if how close Christmas was, and even magical immortal being needed the occasional sleep.

Jack flew through the workshop, not bothering to torment the yetis and elves. Some, like Phil, gave him odd looks, wondering where their snowball to the face was. They weren't complaining, they were just concerned.

Very concerned.

The winter spirit landed gently in front of her door. It was a guest room. North had at least ten guest rooms, seven for kids and three for adults. There were also rooms specially made for the Guardians. May was in a child's room, but she didn't seem to care.

He cracked open the door, peeking through slightly. May's covers were bunched up on the floor, bright red, but her green sheets the covered her bed were empty. Her bag lay abandoned by the closet. Jack continued to scan the room, searching for her.

The room was nice. The floor was hardwood, with many different types of wood laid down. The bed frame was a dark wood, very close to the floor. It was, after all, made for a child. A nightlight was plugged into the wall. There was a dresser and nightstand. The nightstand had a lamp balancing on it. Tucked away in the corner was a desk. May had already set her letters on it. There were shelves on the walls lined with books. One was right above her desk, with only her scrapbook on it.

The most notable feature of the room was the large window on the far left. In the very middle was a stain glass rose, each petal made from a different color. Surrounding it was clear glass. A large windowsill was there, with pillows set down to make it a bench.

The silhouette of a girl was against it, a blanket draped atop her shoulders. Her head was faced away from the door, focused on the outside world. Jack floated over and tapped her shoulder. She didn't flinch, but instead chuckled.

"You're noisy," she declared.

Jack chuckled and sat down next to her. Her eyes never strayed from the winter wonderland of the arctic tundra that stretched out before her. Jack nudged her gently.

"What's up, May?" He asked. "What are you thinking about?"

She shrugged. "Just... homesick. I know Dipper can be a butt-face sometimes, but he's all I have left. I need him. I miss him. And Waddles."

"That's not it. Or all of it, anyways."

"Its Jamie. I have this bad feeling... I don't know what, but I just think... just a bad feeling, you know?" She chuckled. "It's probably nothing. I'm just tired."

"I don't know," Jack said, leaning closer, "maybe you should trust your instincts."

A single thought began to go through her mind- he's going to kiss me. He's going to kiss me. He's going to kiss me!

Mabel pushed her short chocolate hair behind her ear. She puckered her lips and turned toward Jack, heart pounding at a million miles a minute.

She heard a rustling from beside her. "Uh, what are you doing with your lips?" Jack asked.

May blushed, heart sinking. He didn't feel the same way after all. He wasn't going to kiss her. She rubbed the back of her neck, scooting away slightly. An excuse from when she was twelve popped into her mind. It was only used once, so it was even more nervous and rushed then the first time she said it.

"Oh, me? Nothing- this?" She pointed to her mouth, giving a fake smile. "I was just eating some sour candy to, uh, stay awake, so my lips were doing that... because the candy was so sour."

Jack grinned. "Let's see if that sour candy makes you any less sweet."

Before May could comprehend what he had said, the winter spirit forcefully pushed his lips against hers. She almost gasped, but her mouth was pressed against his. Her checks bloomed with rose bushes of blush.

In seconds, she was kissing him back. His lips were so warm. Physically, his entire body was of freezing temperature or lower, but he was more then that. As soon as you shaved off that layer of frost he was hidden beneath, he was someone completely different.

He was simply a boy that wanted someone to notice him, who iced over all of his emotions with cockiness and smirks. She was a girl who tried to fit in yet stand out that wanted someone to understand her. They were soul mates.

May reluctantly pulled away, taking a breath. Even if Jack didn't have to breathe, she did. He looked disappointed, but she kissed him again. It was lighter then the one he had forced upon her, but just as sweet and filled with emotion.

Jack put his arms around her waist. May grabbed his hair (it was soft) and wrapped her legs around him as he lifted her off the ground. Jack pushed her against the wall, trapping her against him and the solid object. His force rattled the walls, sending a few books toppling off of shelves. It was wonderful.

Again, Mabel took an air break. Her head was spinning, her mind was fogged, but she had been waiting for a person to love all of her life. This was what she wanted. She wanted him. He wanted her. She was in a dream, and she never wanted it to end.

She was torn from her dream when Jack tore away. She almost reached out for him again, but refrained. His hand was still over her pounding heart. They were both breathing heavily.

She put her hand in his. "How long have you been waiting to do that?"

"The second I saw you."

Mabel pecked his cheek, unable to resist the temptation. It was warm, too. "You're warm."

"You're beautiful." He smirked, brushing her hair out of her face with his pale fingers. "And as sweet as ever."

The girl let a content sigh leave her lips. "I need to clean up."

Jack beamed. "I'll help!"

He leapt away and zoomed around the room, returning books to their proper places. May laughed and went to the desk, the only place Jack had yet to make it to.

Her cheery mood faded with the color of her face. She was paler then usual, as white as a bleached sheet in white lighting. Even her natural pink cheeks were lacking their glow. Her mouth hung open slightly, sweat dripping down her face.

Jack frowned and zipped over, leaning over her shoulder to see what was wrong. Mabel shoved him away, amber brown eyes filled with a fear that he had never seen before. Not lightning or thunder or an angry Dipper or even Pitch Black had ever given her eyes a glint filled with such fear before.

"Get the Guardians." She whispered, her soft voice echoing in the silent room.

"What? Why?"

"Jamie."


	25. My Fight, NOT

**(A/N: read the bolder letters of the letter below for the message to be revealed.)**

_"I haven't gotten a letter from Jamie in ages!"_

_"Hey, Dip-Dip, this letter is weird."_

_"I haven't seen Jamie in ages."_

_"Its Jamie. I have this bad feeling..."_

_**G**__irlly-Girl-_

_**E**__lla, my mom, says hello. I can't wait to see you again!_

_**T**__his summer, my mom says that we can come to the Falls. She says it was beautiful._

_**J**__ames, that prince from England, is all we've been learning about in school. Talk_

_**a**__bout boring! And some people think its interesting. Save me Mabel! I_

_**c**__an't take another minute of this! It's so boring! In fact, you should_

_**k**__now that I'm writing this in my history class. Very boring, indeed._

_**W**__e, as in me and Sophie, have been counting down the days until the_

_**e**__nchanting summer break so that we can come down and have Mr. Pines have again._

_**N**__ot everything here in Burgess is fun and games, like Jack thinks. I have no_

_**e**__arthly idea about how I'm supposed to read the entire book_

_**E**__nder's Game over winter break. Stupid teachers. We got a new_

_**d**__og. Sophie has been begging for one after Abby died._

_**H**__aving a dog is a big responsibility. I don't know if Sophie can take the_

_**e**__xtreme pressure of having a dog again. She wants a_

_**L**__ab retriever. Mom wants a teacup_

_**p**__oodle. I think I want something along the lines of a_

_**P**__it Bull. They're pretty cool dogs. Dad wants an_

_**I**__rish setter. We just can't decide, it's hectic! Even the councilor agrees_

_**t**__hat its crazy in my normally_

_**c**__omfy home. I think that you need to come_

_**h**__ere to Burgess. It would be so much fun! We could go monster_

_**h**__unting in the forest again. Sophie wants an_

_**e**__ggshell colored sweater. With_

_**h**__am on it. She thinks it would be funny. You make_

_**a**__wesome_

_**s**__weaters and you're really,_

_**u**__ndeniably funny. I can't wait to_

_**s**__ee you this summer,_

_**-J**__amie._

**(A/N: for those who don't want to decode it: ****_GET Jack We NeEd HeLp PItch he has us -J_****)**

* * *

"Pitch," Mabel said, pacing the floor while tears poured down her face.. "H-he has J-Jamie, and m-m-maybe even S-Sophie! I d-didn't e-even notice! Some friend I am..."

The other Guardians were scanning the rest of Jamie's letters to her, searching for other messages or to find out of, perhaps, it was a simple coincidence.

As soon as Mabel had started screaming "JAMIE" and had pushed Jack out of her way, letter gripped to her heart, North had decided it would be a good idea to get the Guardians back together for another meeting. An emergency meeting. The life of a child was at stake because of the Boogeyman.

Jack floated next to her, patting her shoulder comfortingly, mumbling that it would be okay. In truth, he had no idea if things would be okay or not. He loved May like a girlfriend and Jamie and Sophie like brother and sister. If anything happened to either of them, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Tooth slammed down the final letter in exasperation, shaking her head. "No. None of the other letters have messages like that."

"It is one in a thousand," North agreed, paper strewn around him.

"Why would the bloke want a child? I mean, no offense but they're children! What can you really do with 'em?" Bunny murmured.

Mabel was shaky, but she answered. "It's not Jamie he wants, it's me. Jamie and Sophie are the bait. It's a trap I have to fall for. I have no choice. Pitch told me why he wanted me. Pain, age, and belief... I think I put it together. A person like me is pretty rare. I probably have a lot of... power inside of me that he wants."

Jack took her hand stiffly. "You are not going to Pitch."

"I have to!" She screamed. "It's... its not just me anymore, Jack, he dragged Jamie and Sophie into this. And if I don't act soon, he'll take Dipper. Then Candy and Grenada. Then Grunkle Stan. And he'll just keep working his way up the list until he takes you."

"He's right, sweet tooth," agreed Tooth, fluttering around Mabel, "Pitch is a danger to everyone, even us. We can fade. We can die again, but not as easily as... as a mortal can."

"No! No more people are getting hurt because of me!" May was bubbling with anger, yet tears continued to fall from her eyes. "When my parents died, I was given Jamie and Sophie to replace them. They can't be my parents, I know that, but they can be the younger siblings I never had. They are the younger siblings I never had."

Sandy patted May on the back, but gave symbols that she wouldn't be able to go. They could do it- they were the Guardians, they could do it. They could do anything.

Mabel continued to shake her head.

Jack sighed. "This isn't your fight, May. This is our fight. As soon as Pitch stepped into it, it was our fight."

"He wants me, though!"

"But he wants you for power!"

"He doesn't plague you with nightmares!"

"He is the Boogeyman!"

"Ladies, ladies, your both pretty," Bunny interrupted. No one laughed at his attempt at humor. "Look, sheila, I know ya wanna help. I get it, I really do. But we can't have the blood of a kid on our hands. It kinda puts a damper on the whole Guardian deal..."

"But I'm not a kid!" Mabel argued. "I'm sixteen! That's technically a teen!"

The Guardians visibly winced, as if they were realizing that children did eventually grow up. Mabel was quiet, blushing, as if she remembered that this hurt the immortals. She kept her face hard, though, refusing to give up.

"Mabel-" Tooth attempted again.

"I'm going." She insisted.

Jack took her hand and gently pushed his lips against hers. It was nothing like the kisses they had shared earlier. This one was sweeter, more desperate, yet still warm.

A mumble of curiosity traveled through the other Guardians. Tooth was murmuring proudly about how she had known it, Bunny was acting disgusted, and North was whispering about young love. Sandy was making little dream sand hearts dance around the two teasingly.

The winter spirit pulled away from her just as gingerly, resting his forehead against May's. her face was beet red at her friends witnessing her kiss with Jack.

"No," he whispered sternly.

May felt briefly tongue tied. Finally, she hunched her shoulders in defeat. "O... okay." She paused. "But I want to know how North gets around the world so quickly in one night."

North gave a hearty laugh, despite the circumstances. He slapped the small girl roughly on the back, almost breaking her spine. "As long as you stay out of trouble."

May grinned widely. "Let me get my bag. Then you show me how you get around, and I promise I'll go home without any complaints."

She ran towards her room, a large smile on her face. Even so, all of the Guardians wore grim expressions when her back was turned. They had no way to assure Jamie would be safe. They had no way to assure they would be safe.

Pitch loved their fear.

* * *

North took May into his office. She had her bag slung over her shoulder, only two balls of yarn visibly sticking out from the top. The other Guardians were outside of the room, discussing plans to defeat Pitch.

He was showing her the snow globes. They were golden on the top and bottom, with glass wrapped around the middle. Little bits of what looked to be styrofoam were settled at the bottom, waiting to fly around when someone shook it.

He was explaining how they worked simply. You took one and whispered the location that you desired to go. Then you smashed it and it would open a magical portal to said location. You stepped through and it would disappear behind you.

May seemed to be more interested in something else, though. She was examining the ice sculptures all around the room. They hung from the ceiling, littered the desk, and lined the shelves. She asked North about them.

He began to ramble about the ice. May was on a much more important mission, though. She snuck away from the man and to the drawer full of globes she took three of them, hiding them under the balls of yarn. She had a plan.

They just needed to be clueless.

Finally, North turned and declared it was time to go. Mabel sighed. It was a true, honest sigh. She didn't want to leave. She wanted to help, but not like the way she planned to.

She followed North outside toward the others. A feeling of awkwardness overwhelmed May. Their eyes were on her, all preparing to judge her on her next move.

Mabel cleared her throat. "Good luck... I guess."

"Ready to go home?" Bunny asked.

"No. But I promised not to complain." She kissed Jack lightly on the cheek. "Come get me when you beat the poop out of Pitch."

Jack grinned. "Sure."

North handed her a snow globe. May bid them all adieu and shook the snow globe, whispering softly about where she wanted to go. She smashed it on a wall.

A beautiful portal with swirling rainbow colors and an image in the middle opened up. Jack noticed it didn't look like Mabel's room. She smiled and leapt through the portal.

Tooth sighed and turned toward her fellow Guardians. "Now who's ready to kick Pitch's butt?"

"Again..."

* * *

Candy Chou was at her desk, reading her favorite book, Alice in Wonderland. There were light flurries outside. Her window was frosted over, and the lit from her lamp gave it rainbow colors. The sun was just about to set over the town of Gravity Falls.

She sighed contently, flipping to the next page in her book. The night was quiet. Her parents had taken Kyle out to dinner for a good report card while Candy stayed at home to finish a project. Once she finished, she picked up her book.

The silence was ruined by a strong wind. Candy looked up and was shocked to see a swirling circle of color above her bed. She dove off of her bed just as a human sized mass of what seemed to be bright pink fell onto where she was seconds before.

A groan echoed through the quietness of her house. "Ugh, no more portal travel."

Candy rubbed the dust out of her eyes. "Mabel?"

"Cool, it worked!" Mabel cheered, looking over the edge of the bed to see a sprawled out Candy Chou. "Hiya, Candy! Look, I need your help. It's a long and really complicated story."

The girl looked at Mabel with a small smile. "Let me guess. You met Jack Frost, fell in love, have the Boogeyman after you, realized your friend is in danger, was refused the right to go to battle, and came here after stealing two more portal things."

May's eyes widened. "How did you-?"

"Mabel, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that."

"Aren't you taking rocket science as a major?"

"...your taking away my thunder."

"It doesn't matter. Look, Candy, I need your help."


	26. Rescue Gone Wrong

Ch 26

Five Guardians snuck through the dark corridors of Pitch's lair. As soon as Mabel disappeared through the portal, they took a portal of their own to Burgess.

The halls were eerily quiet, beckoning them closer so they could discover the problem. The only sounds were those made by them; the constant flutter of Tooth's wings, the footsteps of North, and the patter of Bunny's feet.

They made their way to the main room of Pitch's lair. Hanging cages littered the ceiling, the groaning of chains adding to the small sounds the Guardians were making. Staircases and bridges were all around, giving off the looks of an MC Escher painting.

The most evident thing in the room was the color grey. It clung glumly to the surface of almost everything in the room, giving e Guardians a look of not belonging. They examined the cages in the room, searching for the one with Jamie in it.

Jack, Tooth, and Sandy flew from cage to cage, searching for the boy and any others that may be with him. They tried to do it in near silence so Pitch and his Night Mares would not be aware of their presence. Bunny and North guarded the entrance so Pitch could not get past them.

"Jamie? Jamie?" Jack called softly.

"Sweet tooth? Are you in here?" Tooth added to the calling.

Sandy jingled.

A small whimper echoed through the quietness of the room. It came from the highest hanging cage, tucked away in the far left corner.

All three of the flying Guardians flew over to it. In it was Jamie Bennett. His hair was mangled and knotted. His skin was very pale from lack of sunlight.

Scars ranging from pencil sized to a foot long covered his body. His soft brown eyes were filled with fear.

"Jamie?"

Jamie looked pained as he pointed to his right. There was a cage dangling a few feet lower then his. In it was a small blonde girl. She was asleep and had skin in the same condition as Jamie's. Even though she managed to get some sleep, it was troubled. Nightmare sand was sprinkled over her sleeping form.

Sophie Bennett was rigid in her sleep, balled up so that no one could hurt her. Sandy gently prodded the nightmare sand and turned it into a dream.

She instantly relaxed. Her face grew into something that was near a smile.

Jamie again let out a small cry as he pointed to his left. In a cage of her own was Mrs. Bennett. She was awake and had a large gash down her right cheek. She was rocking back and forth, knees tucked into her body. She looked terrified out of her mind.

"B-b-Boogeyman... he's real..." She mumbled repeatedly, a broken record.

Jack looped his fingers around the bars on Jamie's cage. "Jamie, are you okay?"

"Jack," he whispered in a frightened tone.

"Hey, it's just me and the Guardians, kiddo. Calm down."

"No, no!" Jamie called, his voice still hoarse. "Go, run! He's coming, it's a trap!"

"Who?"

He was answered by the sounds of fighting. Then, to his shock and terror, silence. A deep chuckle filled the room. It sounded mildly familiar, although it obviously didn't belong to Pitch.

Sandy gave a silent scream. He suddenly fell from the air, golden eyes glazing over as he fell unconscious. Sophie's dream was reverted back to a nightmare. Her face returned to its former pained expression.

Tooth gently tapped Jamie's shoulder. "Stay here, sweet tooth. We'll check out the situation."

Jack, on the other hand, felt a bit nervous. "What was that?"

Tooth shrugged hopelessly and zipped down to the opening where they had left North and Bunny. Jack followed and discovered a horrifying sight.

Cracks were in the sides of the two Guardians heads. Crimson blood trickled from their wounds, adding to the small puddles around their heads. Tooth was already leaning over Bunny as she tried to discover a way to help him.

Jack flew over to North. His swords were still gripped tightly in his hands, as if he was knocked unconscious while fighting. This added to Jack's worry as he tried to sop up the blood with North's hat.

Tooth shrieked. Jack glanced up nervously. Toothiana was covering her ears and screaming as loud as she could, bloody murder. The winter spirit grabbed her shoulder.

"Tooth? What's wrong? Tooth!"

The fairy continued to yell, as if it was her lifeline. "Make it stop, Jack, make it stop!"

"What? Make what stop? Tooth, you're not making any sense!"

Without warning, Tooth gasped and collapsed. Jack winced and flew up to

Jamie's cage. He almost screamed as Tooth did seconds before.

Jamie's cage was empty. Sophie's cage was empty. Mrs. Bennett's cage was empty. The doors were all wide open. He examined the insides. They had simply vanished, gone without a trace.

"Jackson..."

Jack turned around, baring his staff. The voice had a Southern Accent in it. He glared around the room, floating a few meters above the ground so far below.

"Who's there?"

"Jackson Overland..."

Jack felt his heart rate increase. "Shut up! I'm Jack Frost now you... disembodied voice!"

"I'm so scared, Jackson," the voice taunted. "Go ahead and throw a snowball at me, Overland. Lets make a snowman and have a little fun!"

"No!" Jack screamed, pushing himself in a corner so his attacker could only do something from the front.

"Let's play hopscotch," the tormentor continued, "just three little hops. One,"

"S-stop it! This isn't... how do you know my past?"

"You're always playing tricks, Jack! Two,"

"No!" Jack covered his ears. "Get out of my head! Wake up my friends! Where's Jamie?"

The voice lowered itself to a whisper. "I don't like people that steal my girl, Jackson. I don't like it at all."

"S-s-steal? G-gi-girl?"

"Three."

Jack was thrown into an oblivion of darkness.

* * *

Mabel twirled her grappling hook around her fingers. She and Candy each had on a tool belt, filed to the brim with things from the mysterious forest of Gravity Falls. The things were at a wide range. Size-altering crystals, shards of Gideon's old mystic amulet, a piece of the body-switching carpet, the truth teeth, snow globes, and the presidents key.

May stuck the grappling hook in the only remaining pocket of her belt. She had changed into her blue sweater with blue stars on it. She had black makeup under her eyes in a warrior. She grinned madly.

"Mabel, are you sure about this?" Candy asked nervously.

She nodded. "Totally. He's just the Boogeyman, Can! What's the worst thing he can do, give me a bad dream?" May laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "We'll have one snow globe once we get to Pitch. We can use it to get home!"

"One? I thought you brought three snow globes."

"Wha...? No way, you little cray-cray, um, cray-cray girl. Let's go!"

Candy shook the snow globe. "Pitch's lair," she whispered.

She smashed the snow globe on the ground. Mabel grabbed Candy's hand and they stepped through the portal.

* * *

At the Mystery Shack, Dipper Pines walked into the kitchen. He carelessly sorted through the fridge until he found a can of Diet Pit Cola.

He popped off the tab and sat at the table. He took long, slow sips of the soda-pop. Dipper pushed his can around the table dejectedly. He felt bad for breaking his date with Candy and chasing Mabel away.

There had to be something he could do to repair all of their bonds. Maybe he could give Mabel new yarn and take Candy on a romantic date. That would be cool, right?

Oh, who was he kidding? Answer, no one. He stood up and angrily ran to his room. He needed to punch something. A pillow or wall or Gideon would do.

When he entered his room, an interesting sight met his eyes. On his bed was a snow globe and a piece of paper. The handwriting on it was swirly and familiar, although he could not remember who it belonged to.

_Dipper_,

_This_ _is_ _called_ _a_ _second_ _chance_. _It's_ _all_ _set_ _up_ _for_ _you_. _Just_ _smash_ _this_ _and_ _walk_ _through_. _You_ _can_ _fix_ _everything_ _that_ _was_ _ever_ _broken_. _Just_ _take_ _a_ _chance._

It was unsigned.

Dipper gently picked up the snow globe. It showed a large room with cages in it. He thought for a while. This was his second chance. This could fix everything. Plus he would get to break something.

He smashed the snow globe.

**im begging fore reviews for my birthday. PLEASE?**


	27. Return of the Grappling Hook

**I do not own RotG or GF.**

Jack stared glumly out of his cage. He and the other Guardians were tied up, gagged, and had their weapons taken from them. He was powerless, Bunny and North were trying to heal their heads, Tooth was banging on the bars, and Sandy was still unconscious.

Some Guardians, Jack thought glumly.

Jamie and his family had been brought back into the room. Jamie and Sophie were gagged, and their mother had been knocked out. Jack knew why. They were there. They were hope. Mrs. Bennett needed hope. If the kids were to tell her about them in the neighboring cages, she would either scream or beg. Or go crazy like she did with Pitch.

The winter spirit shifted his weight from side to side helplessly. He couldn't deliver his promise to May. Jamie was going to die. He was going to fade from lack of believers.

They were so screwed.

* * *

May felt herself be thrust forward. She groaned and looked around. They were in a forest, covered in a thin blanket of snow. Far to the north was a lake. Trees towered above her head.

She noticed footprints on the ground. Large boot prints, oversized rabbit paws, golden sand, a teal feather, and bare footprints. She grinned, kneeling in the snow and rubbing her hand over the foot impression.

Jack, she thought joyfully.

A moan cut through the silence of the forest. "Mabel?" Candy asked groggily.

"Shh!" May snapped. "We're close to Pitch's lair! Whoa, what happened to you?"

Candy's hair was sticking up in all directions. Her glasses (which she decided she was going to wear for the quest) were crooked and she looked as if she were about to hurl.

"I do not think travel by portal is the best transportation for me." Candy mumbled distastefully.

Mabel stifled laughter as Candy pressed down her hair into its normal position. She kept her face strait and pointed at the footprints.

Her face was hard. "They must have gone that way."

Candy adjusted her glasses, eyes widening at the size of Bunny's paw print. "How big is the Easter Bunny?"

"About six foot one... never mind that right now! Lives are at stake, Candy!"

"Ours included?"

"...yes. Lets go!"

The girls trudged through the snow, following the footprints. Candy wrapped her arms around herself, wishing for a jacket. May seemed quite comfortable, meanwhile. I guess you get used to the cold after spending so much time with the spirit of winter himself.

They soon came to a large opening in the ground. It had been attempted to be camouflaged by leaves, twigs, and snow. That had all been shoved aside by the Guardians. Mabel grinned and leaned toward the edge of the hole.

She alerted Candy the bottom of it could be seen. The drop was only about eight feet. Mabel slid herself down. Candy followed.

They were in a hall filled with shadows. They seemed to stalk the girls as they snuck around the halls, looking for the room where the Guardians and Jamie were being held. May began considering using their extra snow globe to transport directly to their Guardian of choosing.

Soon, they discovered a small room. It was no bigger then a janitors closet and about as untidy. There were things such as food, broken toys, and books scattered on shelves. The thing that caught May's eye were the boxes.

She motioned for Candy to keep watch. She snuck over to the boxes. It was very long, almost covering the length of the room. She took tone of the shards if Gideon's old amulet and cut open the tape on the box. She gasped, tears jumping into her eyes.

Slowly, she pulled out things. Two boomerangs and Easter egg bombs on a sash. Two long swords. A small dagger with a rainbow hilt. And, most terrifying of all, a tall, wooden Shepard's staff.

Mabel slowly ran her finger over the gnarled wood of the branch. Candy glanced behind her, seeing the weapons scattered around Mabel.

"Oh, Jack," she whispered softly, "what has he done to you?"

Her face became masked in a look of determination. She put the sash around herself, emptied a few slots in her tool belt and filling them in the empty ones of Candy, put the swords and daggers in the slots, and held the staff proudly. Candy had never seen Mabel look so fierce in her life.

Without a single word, May pushed by Candy and led them through the halls. Candy grinned as the brunette expertly maneuvered the twists and turns.

That was really love.

They soon came to a large room. Cages dangled from the ceiling. Anger sparked in May's eyes as she looked around, wishing she could fly so she could have a better view then the useless bottoms of the cages.

Candy stood guard at the door. She wanted to help, but she felt uncomfortable with Mabel being so serious. That and the fact she had no idea whom she was recusing.

Mabel hooked the staff on her arm as she dug through her tool belt. Her hand landed on the grappling hook. She smiled, remembering the day she first got her beloved tool/potential weapon. It had been one of the best days of her life.

"Bunny? Jamie?" She called softly.

The response to her voice was her own echo. She winced at the noise it caused. She quietly stepped around the room.

"Tooth? North?"

Again, her ears were greeted with the repetition of her words. Her heart was faltering. Perhaps they weren't even there.

"Sophie, Sandy?"

Nothing. In a desperate attempt to find them, May tried one last time.

"Jack Frost?"

Her voice echoed teasingly off the walls. "Jack Frost... Frost... ost..."

Mabel gripped Jack's staff tightly in her small hands. What if he really was dead? What if they were all dead? What if she was too late?

She imagined going to Jamie and Sophie's funeral. Their graves would unknowingly taunt her. Too late, they would sing, you failed. She would have her own, private funeral for the Guardians. The weight of their deaths falling on her shoulders until the end of time. Too late, the gravestones would tease, you failed.

The staff grew heavy in her hands. Were those weapons all that were left of the Guardians? Her knees trembled violently, on the verge of collapsing.

"Mmm..."

May's brown orbs flew upwards, scanning the suspended cages above her. Was she hearing things? Were the ghosts of those she accidentally killed coming back to haunt her? Or was Pitch

taunting her, drinking up her fear?

"Mmm!"

The cry was more then a muffled sound that time. Mabel knew for sure it wasn't in her head. It was real. The call was like someone was trying to get her attention. She knew that voice.

"Jack?" She whispered shakily.

"Mmm! Mmm!"

Her eyes lit up. "Jack!" She said, straining to keep her voice low. "Jack, where are you?"

"Mph."

Mabel sighed. "I'll find you. Grappling hook, away!"

The spiked hook traveled into the air. It gripped on to the chain holding the cage to the ceiling.

Mabel pushed the retract button. Her feet left the ground as she was pulled far into the air. She latched her feet to the side of the cage, holding one of the bars for balance.

She hoped she wouldn't fall.

"Jack?"

"Mph!"

May grinned and unlatched the hook from the chain. She followed his voice, swinging from cage to cage, searching for the boy. On her face was a huge smile. They were alive. They were alive! He was alive!

Soon, a reflection of silver flashed off of a light of gold. Mabel looked around. She saw her favorite spirit, huddled up so that he was as close to the wall of his cage toward Mabel as he could be. He was tied up and had a gag.

May playfully winked at him as she unhooked the hook again. She aimed for the chain dangling above his cage and fired. Jack let out a muffled scream and ducked. The hook clattered onto the chain, almost missing. Mabel pulled slightly. The hook wouldn't come undone, but it was unsteady. It might fall.

She tried to ignore it and jumped. The feeling of the wind on her face was a thrill. Her stomach flipped in excitement. Gravity pulled at her feet, pulling her downwards.

Before she could become a Mabel-pancake, the retract button was hit. She zoomed upwards, the sound plastic on wire filling the room. She landed gracefully on the outside of the cage. Jack's blue eyes were wide.

"Heh, heh," May quietly giggled, "fancy meeting you here."

Jack glared at her. He began grunting, most likely something along the lines of a lecture for lying. Mabel grinned.

"Turn around so I can untie and un-gag you."

Jack sighed and did so. Mabel gently undid the knots, humming quietly as she worked. Soon, they fell of easily.

Jack rubbed his wrists, red from the rope, and flexed his feet. He seemed quite pleased with being free again.

"Mabel Pines," he hissed, turning toward the girl. She cowered under his disapproving gaze. His eyes shone brightly. "I could so kiss you right now."

May smiled put her hand through the bars. Jack looped his fingers in hers. It may not have been the right time for a romantic moment for a normal person, but for Mabel and Jack, it was perfect.

They slowly moved closer, preparing for a kiss. They were just about to lock lips when a loud moan of protest interrupted them.

"Now, now, Mabel, don't wanna soil your precious lips with those of some dead scum."


	28. Creepy Li'l Gideon

**Whoa, I'm so sorry! I've been as busy as heck lately with swim team and stuff (I thought summer was supposed to be less busy?) that I haven't had time to update in forever. So much for that done by my bday thing. Ah well.**

**i don't own RotG of GF.**

Mabel felt chills travel up her spine. She was frozen, dangling by a wire on the outside of a cage. She mentally cursed herself for being so stupid. How could she let her guard down? Where was Candy? Why didn't she check in?

Slowly, May reached into one of the compartments on her tool belt. All she needed was the presidents key and they would be as good as out of there.

A hard hand gripped her hovering palm before she could grab the key. The skin felt almost grainy, like someone had glued sand to it. It was barely bigger then her own hand and felt very fatty. The hand slowly crawled up her arm and soon landed on her cheek.

She shuddered. The hand gave off an aura of pure evil. She could not move.

"Mabel Pines," the voice cooed, "you're quite the prize. Everyone wants ya, but only one can have ya. Let me be that someone."

A name suddenly accompanied the voice. Gideon Charles Gleeful. Hesitantly, May looked at the boy. Her breath hitched. He was a Night Mare.

His gold-green eyes glinted in the darkness, practically shining. May felt Jack's grip tighten on her hand. Gideon continued to caress her cheek gently.

"Get away from her," Jack hissed, venom in his words.

Gideon chuckled deeply. "Why, Jackson?" He growled. Jack visibly winced. "Why is she so important to ya? She's just gonna grow up and get married and die. Sooner or later she'll stop believing. Everyone does. You'll be nothin more than an old dream."

Even though Mabel didn't see it, she could practically hear the strained look on his face. She could almost see the tears in his eyes as reality fell onto him, slapping him harshly in the face. That had happened to Mabel once. When her parents died.

Reality was a cruel, evil being, worse then a thousand Boogeymen. Maybe.

"Gideon, stop," Mabel whispered, "please. Don't do this."

"Come on, my strawberry shortcake," insisted Gideon, "we'll just go and tell Pitch that ya wanna be on the winning side and get ya turned into a Night Mare like me, and we can live happily ever after with the world at our knees, bowing to us, serving us like the king and queen we are."

Mabel hesitated as Gideon began floating away from the cage. "No," she said quietly.

"No?" Gideon repeated. "Whadaya mean, NO?"

"I mean I don't love you, Gideon! You're a creepy butt face that needs to accept that I broke up with you almost five years ago and I never want to get back with you! I don't like you in that way! You're trying to ruin my life! How is that going to make me love you?"

Gideon tugged harshly on Mabel's arm. If he had done it any harder it would have been ripped right out of its socket. May yelped in pain.

"I said come on!" Gideon practically screamed.

"I said no!"

Gideon threw Mabel towards the cage. Only her grappling hook kept her from falling to her death. The angry boy created a large ball of nightmare sand. He looked down at Mabel, a wicked grin on his face, as he threw the sand like a baseball.

"NO!"

Mabel winced at the volume of her tone. She must have woken up the dead, or at least all of Pennsylvania. Gideon crackled, his laughter insane.

"Monster!" She screamed at Gideon. "You are a cold blooded monster!"

The boy floated down to Mabel, dangling helplessly a good yard down from Jack's cage. She heard strangled cries coming from him, as if he were deep in the pain of a bad nightmare.

Gideon grinned wickedly and forced his lips onto Mabel's. She tried to get him off by kicking and hitting him, but the boy overpowered her. He touched her lips, moving them slowly, hands crawling up her arms. He tried to force his tongue into her mouth.

She kicked. She let out muffled screams. She was helpless. She needed a miracle.

That miracle came in the form of a set of golden dentures. They smacked Gideon in the side of the face, winding him briefly. Mabel gasped for air and looked down.

Candy was there. She looked disgusted and angry. "Gideon," she spat angrily.

Gideon rubbed his cheek. "Candy," he replied in the same tone of loathing.

Mabel took the chance and whacked Gideon over the head with Jack's staff. The blow was powerful enough to knock out the boy, if just briefly. Candy moved out of the way so not to get crushed by his pudgy body. When it landed, she kicked him and spat on him.

"Mabel is Jack's," Candy fumed, "not yours."

May grinned. "Thanks. I don't suppose you have a memory eraser in that, do you? I would love to forget the last five minutes of my life."

"That makes two of us." Candy agreed.

Giving a small chuckle, Mabel retracted the wire until she was back at the top. She glanced in concern toward Jack, to see him pressed into a ball as a nightmare joyfully ate his fear.

With a growl, May whipped out the presidents key and forced it into the lock. She had so much displeasure and hatred in her she felt like she could have broken it off with her bare hands.

The lock limply fell off, to the floor. May jumped into the cage and shook Jack, swatting her hand through the nightmare. She kissed him and waited for his blue orbs to flutter open. They did not. She growled and took out a size altering crystal.

Taking out a flashlight, Mabel shone the light through the crystal so that it was a soft pink. The pink light engulfed the nightmare and reduced its mass until it was only and inch tall. May squashed the bad dream between her fingers.

Jack woke up with a start, almost colliding heads with Mabel. She smiled and gave him his staff without complaint.

"I need to get me one of those," she said calmly.

"What happened?" Jack groaned.

Mabel bit her lip. "We knocked out Gideon."

"We?"

"Me and Candy. You remember her, right? We're here to rescue you all. Would you mind helping me free the others?"

"I so want to kiss you right now."


End file.
